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Key developments since May 2000: Russian forces have placed antipersonnel mines inside Tajikistan along the border with Afghanistan. Russian peacekeepers have also used antipersonnel mines in Tajikistan. Uzbekistan acknowledges laying antipersonnel mines on its border with Tajikistan, and Tajikistan claims that Uzbek forces have laid mines inside Tajik territory. Kyrgyzstan has reportedly laid mines on its border with Tajikistan. The new mining has resulted in an increase in mine victims.
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Tajikistan acceded to both the Mine Ban Treaty and to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines on 12 October 1999. The Mine Ban Treaty entered into force for Tajikistan on 1 April 2000.
Tajikistan has not enacted domestic implementation legislation for the Mine Ban Treaty. Tajikistan has not submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report to the UN, which was due by 28 September 2000. It also did not submit an annual update due by 30 April 2001.
Tajikistan did not participate in either the First Meeting (May 1999) or Second Meeting (September 2000) of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. It has not attended any of the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, or any of the other international and regional diplomatic landmine meetings in 2000 and 2001. Tajikistan was absent for the November 2000 vote on the UN General Assembly resolution calling for universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
At the January 2000 summit of the CIS states, the government indicated a possible review of its decision to join the treaty, based on an evaluation of the consequences of clearing minefields from the Tajik-Afghan border.[1] At the April 2000 CIS summit in Moscow, the Tajik Minister of Defense and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov apparently again expressed doubts about the Mine Ban Treaty. In May 2000, a Russian official said that Tajikistan had communicated these same views regarding the Mine Ban Treaty in correspondence with the Russian Foreign Ministry.[2]
Russia has acknowledged that its forces in Tajikistan have laid antipersonnel mines inside Tajikistan. This was first reported in October 2000. Landmine Monitor has not been able to get responses to a series of key questions, such as: Did Tajikistan request that Russia lay the mines? If not, did Russia seek Tajikistan’s permission to lay the mines? Did Tajikistan give permission to Russia to lay the mines? Has Tajikistan responded in any way to Russia’s use of mines inside Tajikistan, either to protest or to approve? If the government of Tajikistan has acquiesced to Russia’s laying of antipersonnel mines inside Tajikistan, this would likely constitute a violation of the Mine Ban Treaty. Article 1 of the Mine Ban Treaty states that a State Party may not “assist, encourage or induce, in any way, anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party.”
Tajikistan is not believed to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines. It appears that Tajikistan has stockpiles of antipersonnel mines that the Soviet Union stored in the republic. It is not known to be taking any steps toward destruction of those stocks. The deadline for Tajikistan to complete its stockpile destruction is 1 April 2004.
Based on the use of antipersonnel mines by Russian border guards and peacekeeping forces, it would appear that Russia maintains a stockpile of antipersonnel mines inside Tajikistan.
It was reported in October 2000 that Russian border guards have deployed antipersonnel landmines on the Tajik side of the Pyandge River to protect the Tajik-Afghan border from invasion by the Taliban.[3] The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has acknowledged use of antipersonnel mines in Tajikistan, in order to stop real and potential “terrorist attacks” and to block illegal drug trafficking.[4]
It does not appear that the Tajik government itself has used antipersonnel mines. The US Department of State’s Human Rights Report for Tajikistan for 2000 had somewhat ambiguous wording that the “Government also has laid numerous minefields along the border with Afghanistan.”[5] After a series of inquiries by Landmine Monitor seeking clarification, the State Department said that the Russians, not the Tajiks laid the mines.[6]
In addition to use by Russian border guards on the Afghan border, Russian peacekeeping forces have also used antipersonnel mines, to protect their posts and for other purposes. A November 2000 report stated that “the peacekeeping forces of Russia in Tajikistan employ mine weaponry in accordance with the provisions of international law, and primarily for the protection of border outposts.”[7]
According to a Russian official, the use of antipersonnel mines by the Russian peacekeeping forces and border guards at the Tajik-Afghan border meet the requirements of Protocol II of CCW (both the methods of use and the types of mines). He said, “Mine use is regarded by Russia as a needed measure and serves to secure not only the Central Asian region, but the European part of the continent from illegal intrusion of drugs and weaponry, as well as to prevent the access of armed fundamentalists to the Tajik and other Central Asian territories. The mines used are the so-called controlled minefields.”[8]
In December 2000, the head of the Russian delegation to the Second Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II also acknowledged that Russian forces in Tajikistan have emplaced mines on the Tajik-Afghan border, and insisted that the mines were used in a manner consistent with the protocol.[9]
Uzbekistan has been laying antipersonnel mines on the border with Tajikistan since at least September 2000. (See report on Uzbekistan for details.) In January 2001, General S. Kamolov, Chairman of the Tajik Committee of State Border Control, commented on Uzbek frontier demarcation activities, including deployment of antipersonnel landmines in Ferghana, Namangan, Surkhandaryin, Samarqand, and other near-the-border regions.[10] New areas of the Tajik-Uzbek border were reported mined during the week of 10 May 2001.[11] Tajik officials stated that Uzbek border guards planted 40 more mines on the border on 26 June 2001.[12]
Tajikistan has claimed that some of the mines have been placed on Tajik territory. The Tajik deputy foreign minister, Abdunabi Sattorzoda, stated, “Officially, Uzbekistan asserts that it is placing mines in its territory, but so far the border between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have not been delineated. Therefore it is impossible to definitely say in whose territory the mines are being placed.”[13]
Tajikistan has also claimed that Uzbekistan has failed, at least in some instances, to inform the Tajik government of when, where, and why mines are being laid. The Tajik Foreign Ministry has sent notes of protest to the Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan.[14]
In early 2001, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov discussed the issue of Uzbekistan’s mining of Tajik borders during his meeting with newly appointed head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) office in Tajikistan, Mr. Mark Gilbert. The OSCE official said he would discuss the issue with his organization and try to resolve it.[15]
Kyrgyzstan reportedly emplaced antipersonnel mines along its border with Tajikistan during summer-fall 2000. According to a news report quoting a Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense press release, “In the course of combat operations of summer-fall 2000 in Batken district and Chon-Alay district of Osh region the armed forces of Kyrgyzstan laid mines in the sectors of the border where the incursion of armed rebels into the territory of Kyrgyzstan were anticipated the most. This included mountain passes and paths located in the zone of combat actions. However, after the cessation of military activities all of the mined areas were demined.”[16]
Tajikistan has a serious problem with antipersonnel mines stemming from internal conflict after its independence from the Soviet Union. The US State Department estimated in 1998 that there are approximately 100,000 landmines in Tajikistan.[17] The UN Mine Action Service carried out assessment missions in 1996 and 1997 and estimated the total at 200,000, and concluded that a mine action plan needed to be developed and a mine action center set up.[18] The major areas affected by landmines are the central Tavildara region, the Garm Valley, Khalaikhum, and the border with Afghanistan. The mined areas are not generally well marked.[19]
On 7 July 2001, representatives of the border departments of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan held a joint meeting in Tajikistan’s southwestern Shartuz district. They discussed possible construction of technical and engineering installations along the border. A Tajik representative said that the installations could reduce the number of mine victims, as well as the number of border violations.[20]
There are no humanitarian mine clearance programs underway in Tajikistan. The 1996 UN assessment mission estimated that it would cost US$736,425 to demine areas where civilians and UN and aid workers were at risk.[21] Tajik forces and Russian peacekeepers in Tajikistan clear mines on a sporadic basis.[22]
The Tajik government expressed support for mine awareness campaigns, but has limited funds. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has implemented mine awareness programs in the past.[23] The ICRC initiated data collection on mine casualties in hospitals on the Tajik /Uzbek border in order to determine the strategy to adopt for mine and UXO awareness activities. The data collection is the preliminary phase of an in-depth needs assessment to be conducted in 2001. Analysis of the data will be carried out in early 2001 and training of relevant staff will follow thereafter.[24]
Civilians and military personnel have been killed and injured by landmines in Tajikistan. The remote geography and poor medical facilities mean that it is likely that most mine casualties go unreported. The total number of civilian casualties is uncertain. From 1992 through July 1997 twenty mine incidents were reported to the ICRC. Since the laying of landmines on the Tajik-Uzbek border in 2000 the number of casualties has increased.
In January 2001, General S. Kamolov, Chairman of the Tajik Committee of State Border Control, stated that in the last six months of 2000 a total of 26 mine incidents involving civilians were reported in Tajikistan, including 19 deaths.[25] In February 2001, it was reported that 20 people had been killed and 11 injured since August 2000 by mines deployed on Uzbek-Tajik border.[26] On 7 May 2001, Amirqul Azimov, the secretary of the Tajik Security Council, said that 26 citizens of Tajikistan have been killed and 32 others have been injured in mine explosions on the Tajik-Uzbek border. He said, “To date, these mines have not blown up one Uzbek militant, while casualties among the civilian Tajik population have increased.”[27] The majority of victims were women and children tending cattle or gathering firewood.[28]
Media reports indicate the following mine incidents:
Tajikistan has been historically one of the poorest republics in Central Asia. The health care system is ill equipped to adequately deal with the immediate and ongoing needs of mine victims. In an agreement between the ICRC, the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Social Protection, in March 1998 a prosthetic workshop was reopened in Dushanbe. The Canadian Red Cross operates the Dushanbe Orthopedic Center. In 2000, 397 prostheses were provided to patients, including 35 male and 3 female victims of landmines.[37] In addition, the program delivered 263 pairs of crutches and 24 wheelchairs to disabled adults and children. Data sheets were completed for 728 amputees (landmine victims and others) and 264 hours of training were provided to staff of the ministry of Social Protection. The Tajikistan orthopedic program is an important institution for the country and its neighbors because of the free services its provides to amputees in the country.[38]
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[1] Interview with Andrei Malov, Senior Counselor, Department of International Security, Disarmament and Arms Control, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4 May 2000.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Yuri Golotyuk, “Russia is just a river-far from new war,” Vremya Novostey online (News-Time online), №137, 2 October 2000; Patrick E. Tyler, “Russia Hardens Its Positions along a Tajikistan Border,” New York Times, 3 October 2000.
[4] Andrei Malov, Counselor of the Department for Security Arms Control and Disarmament of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, presentation to IPPNW-Russia, 19 January 2001. Also, interviews with Senior Counselor Malov, 29 November 2000, 18 December 2000, and 23 January 2001.
[5] US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – Tajikistan,” February 2001.
[6] Interview with the US State Department Desk Officer for Tajikistan, 13 June 2001.
[7] Georgiy Mekhov, “How to Solve the Mine Problem: Russia Supports the Aspiration of the World Community to Ban Anti-Personnel Mines, But is not Ready for it,” Moscow Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, November 2000.
[8] Andrei Malov, Counselor of the Department for Security Arms Control and Disarmament of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, presentation to IPPNW-Russia, 19 January 2001.
[9] Interview with Boris Kvok, Deputy Director, Department of Security and Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 13 December 2000.
[10] Tajik Embassy in the Russian Federation, 31 January 2001; see also, Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye (Independent Military Observer), 9 February 2001.
[11] “Uzbeks notify Tajiks of new border mines,” Integrated Regional Information Networks, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 10 May 2001.
[12] “Tajik man killed in landmine blast on Tajik-Uzbek border,” Agence France Presse (Dushanbe), 27 June 2001.
[13] “Tajikistan: Victims of Uzbek land mines increasing,” Integrated Regional Information Networks, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 8 May 2001.
[14] CIS Section of Nezavisimaya Gazeta (Independent Newspaper), #212 (2274), 9 November 2000; “One killed, two injured in landmine blast on Tajik-Uzbek border,” Agence FrancePresse (Dushanbe), 8 January 2001.
[15] “Tajiks seek international solution to mine blasts on Uzbek border,” The Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 April 2001.
[16] A. Knyazev reporter for Slovo Kyrgyzstana (Word of Kyrgyzstan), “Mine war as one of the realities of Central Asia,” appearing in V Kontse Nedeli, 16 February 2001, p. 11; also available online through the database of the Kyrgyz National Information Agency KABAR at www.kabar.gov.kg/russian/gazet/2001/2/16-4.htm.
[17] US Department of State, Hidden Killers, September 1998, p. A2.
[18] UNMAS Working Document: Mine Action Profiles, 15 November 1998; United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs Interoffice Memorandum, on the Concept for Mine Action in Tajikistan, 10 October 1997.
[19] See also Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 816-817 and Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 742-743.
[20] “Tajik and Uzbek Border Departments Hold a Joint Meeting,” Asia-Plus information agency, 7 July 2001, available on-line through The Times of Central Asia at http://www.times.kg/?D=print&aid=1024623.
[21] United Nations, Demining Programme Report: Tajikistan.
[22] Landmines: Outlook from Russia, IPPNW-Russia interim report, 1999.
[23] ICRC, Annual Report, 1997.
[24] Information provided to Landmine Monitor by the ICRC, 12 July 2001.
[25] Tajik Embassy in Russian Federation, 31 January 2001; Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye (Independent Military Observer), 9 February 2001.
[26] Alexander Neshin, “To Whom Blind Death Threatens,” Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star (newspaper)), Dushanbe, 9 February 2001.
[27] “Tajikistan: Victims of Uzbek Land Mines Increasing,” Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 8 May 2001, available on-line through The Times of Central Asia at http://www.times.kg/?D=print&aid=1019224.
[28] “Tajikistan: Victims of Uzbek land mines increasing,” Integrated Regional Information Networks, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 8 May 2001.
[29] “Eight civilians killed by mines on Tajik-Uzbek border,” Associated Press, 20 September 2000.
[30] Nezavisimaya Gazeta (Independent Newspaper), #212 (2274), 9 November 2000; “Six Tajiks injured in landmine explosions on border with Uzbekistan,” ITAR-TASS (Moscow), 3 November 2000.
[31] “Three Tajiks hit by Uzbek landmine on border,” ITAR-TASS (Moscow), 8 January 2001.
[32] Alexander Neshin, “To Whom Blind Death Threatens,” Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star (newspaper)), Dushanbe, 9 February 2001; “Two killed, three injured in landmine blast on Tajik-Uzbek border,” Agence France-Presse, 7 February 2001.
[33] “Tajikistan: Victims of Uzbek land mines increasing,” Integrated Regional Information Networks, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 7 May 2001.
[34] “Two Tajik citizens killed, five wounded by landmine on Tajik-Uzbek border,” Moscow RIA (translated text), 25 May 2001.
[35] “Tajik man killed in landmine blast on Tajik-Uzbek border,” Agence France Presse (Dushanbe), 27 June 2001.
[36] “Two Tajiks killed in landmine blast on Tajik-Uzbek border,” Agence France Presse (Dushanbe) 10 July 2001.
[37] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Unit Health and Relief Division Annual Report 2000, pp. 12-13; Email from Michael Rudiak, Program Manager, Europe and Central Asia, Canadian Red Cross, to Landmine Monitor (MAC), 23 July 2001.
[38] Email from Michael Rudiak, Program Manager, Europe and Central Asia, Canadian Red Cross, to Landmine Monitor (MAC), 23 July 2001.
