| <BAHAMAS | BARBADOS> |
Key developments since May 2001: Bangladesh established a National Committee on implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty in August 2001. As of February 2002, a Bangladesh Army battalion was engaged in demining in Ethiopia as part of the UN peacekeeping mission. In May 2002, Bangladesh attended the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings for the first time. It has not submitted its initial Article 7 Report, due 28 August 2001.
Bangladesh signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 7 March 1998 and ratified it on 6 September 2000. On the same day, it ratified Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). The Mine Ban Treaty entered into force for Bangladesh on 1 March 2001.
Although Article 145-A of the Constitution of Bangladesh states, “All treaties with foreign countries shall be submitted to the President who shall cause them to be laid before the Parliament,” the President has not yet done so with the Mine Ban Treaty.[1]
Bangladesh has not yet taken any steps to enact implementing legislation for the Mine Ban Treaty.[2] However, in August 2001 Bangladesh established a National Committee for the Implementation of the Obligations of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. The National Committee is chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and includes representatives from the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Welfare.[3] The Committee has met twice, in September 2001 and May 2002. Landmine Monitor was told, “During the meetings, all concerned Ministries and other authorities discussed Bangladesh's obligations under the Ottawa Convention and reviewed the progress of implementation of these obligations. The Committee is currently in the process of preparing Bangladesh's initial report under Article 7 of the Convention.”[4]
Bangladesh did not attend the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, held in Managua in September 2001. An official of the Foreign Ministry said, “The time of Managua meeting was difficult one, particularly following the September 11 incident and at that time there was even apprehension that the meeting might be called off.”[5] Bangladesh cosponsored and voted in favor of pro-ban UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M on 29 November 2001 as it had in previous years.
In May 2002 Bangladesh participated for the first time in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva. At the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention on 27 May 2002, Counselor Rabab Fatima expressed concerns about being “the only country in South Asia that is State Party to the Ottawa Convention.” She noted that non-state actors (armed opposition groups) and others had used mines on the border and even inside Bangladesh. She spoke of the need to bring others, including non-state actors, into the fold of the convention, and advocated a mechanism to monitor the possible use of mines by non-State Parties against State Parties in the region.[6]
Bangladesh has yet to submit its initial Article 7 transparency report, due on 28 August 2001. A Foreign Ministry official said, “We have received a printed form related to the Article 7 report to fill in and to submit. The government is in the process of preparing the report. It will be a fairly comprehensive report involving extensive consultation with all concerned government agencies.”[7] No time line for completion was provided.
At the Third Annual Meeting of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II in December 2001, Ambassador Dr. Toufiq Ali stated, “As a party of the Ottawa Convention, we see both these as major instruments towards ensuring a mine free world. Though the production, stockpiles and global trade of antipersonnel mines have been reduced significantly, further transparency on usage, production, stockpiles and other mine related matters are essential.”[8] Bangladesh has not yet completed the annual Amended Protocol II Article 13 reporting requirement.
According to officials, Bangladesh has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. The government acknowledges that it has a stockpile of antipersonnel mines, but has not yet provided information on the quantity, types or suppliers of the mines. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said, “Soon we will provide all details to the appropriate authorities.”[9] It appears that Bangladesh possesses antipersonnel mines made in Pakistan, the former Soviet Union, China, and the United States.[10] The planning process for destruction of stockpiles has apparently not yet begun; the deadline for completion of destruction is 1 March 2005.
A military official has reiterated to Landmine Monitor that Bangladesh has never used antipersonnel mines, not even during its fight against an insurgency movement in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) from January 1973 to December 1997.[11] But, as noted by Ambassador Ali, “we have not been spared the casualties of mines laid by others. Scattered, unmarked minefields have hurt our nationals as well.”[12] According to Bangladesh authorities, the Burmese army and Na Sa Ka (border security forces in Arakan state) have planted mines in no-man’s land, and even inside Bangladesh territory, mainly to stop cross-border guerrilla activities, but also to extort bribes from smugglers.[13]
However, this practice may have abated or even ended in the past year. A Bangladesh border security force (BDR) official told the Landmine Monitor researcher, “There is no news of casualties after the monsoon of this year [August 2001]. Usually Na Sa Ka plants new mines every year after the rainy season. This year, so far, they did not plant any new mines and did not replace old ones.” When asked about the apparent change in practice, the official said that the situation had improved thanks to several meetings between the officials of the border security forces of the two countries.[14]
A leader of an armed opposition group in Arakan, Burma, said, “The cause behind Burma’s not planting new mines this year is the fact that Burma has been facing international criticism for its mines activities. The Burmese authority has also understood that we remove mines planted by them. It does not mean that the whole border area is mine-free. We only demine our passage with the help of our own experts with some mine-sweeping equipment. Another cause of it may be that we had minimal activities within Burma this year.”[15]
Despite the above information, in March 2002 there were several newspaper reports of mine use by Na Sa Ka forces, and an armed opposition group leader told Landmine Monitor that on 17 March 2002, Na Sa Ka men were seen carrying basketfuls of mines to the no-man’s land and emplacing them.[16]
The Chittagong Hill Tracts is a hilly area with thick jungles, and is a homeland to approximately twelve ethnic tribes.[17] It borders on the Burmese states of Arakan and Chin, as well as India’s Mizoram and Tripura states. Armed opposition groups, also known as Non-State Actors (NSAs), from Bangladesh are based there. According to newspaper reports, the rebels of neighboring countries also take refuge within CHT after incursion in their respective countries. However, Bangladesh’s border security forces claim that all foreign rebel forces are immediately driven across the borders when their presence is known.[18]
Two armed Bangladeshi groups, the Prity group and the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF), use booby-traps and improvised explosive devices that function like an antipersonnel mine.[19] Both armed groups were formed after the 1997 peace agreement between Shanti Bahini and the Bangladesh government.
Two of the Burmese Arakan groups possess some 200-350 Chinese Type 58 antipersonnel blast mines and Type 59 antipersonnel stake mines, which they claim were originally laid by Burmese forces.[20] One Arakan group claims to have a sizeable stockpile of battery-powered mines and command-detonated mines, which it uses to protect temporary camps in no-man’s land.[21] Some of the rebel groups in CHT have the capacity to make mine-like devices, and they share this expertise with friendly groups.[22]
The Bangladesh branch of Nonviolence International (under Nonviolence International Southeast Asia) is carrying out an awareness program among the NSAs and educating them about global efforts to ban antipersonnel mines.
Landmines are found along the border with Burma in Chittagong Hill Tracts, a hilly area 208 kilometers long.[23] The mines remain a menace to the people living near the border. According to a BDR Naikongchari officer, the most mine-affected area is between pillars No. 38 and 47; this area is also the most densely populated.[24] The villages close to mine-affected areas are located in Ukhia and Ramu sub-districts of Cox’s Bazar and Naikongchari, Alikadam, and Thansi sub-districts of Bandarban. Most people depend on forest resources for their living; they collect bamboo and cut wood to sell in local markets.
The Bangladesh army has several battalions with mine clearing capabilities. They have cleared mines in Kuwait, Cambodia, in UN peacekeeping operations, and inside Bangladesh. One Bangladeshi battalion is engaged in a mine clearing operation in Kuwait under the Kuwaiti Engineering Corps.[25] As of February 2002, a battalion was engaged in a demining operation in Ethiopia as part of the UN peacekeeping mission.[26]
Since February 2001, border security officials of Bangladesh and Burma have met several times to discuss measures to solve the landmine problem, including on 25 April 2002. Bangladesh has repeatedly asked Burma to clear mines from the border area, but Burma has denied any responsibility and blamed the rebel groups for laying the mines.[27] BDR officials also told Landmine Monitor, “During bilateral talks the poor English of the border security officials of Burma poses a problem to some extent. Most of the time we have to depend on an interpreter, which makes the things more muddled. So, neither side can communicate clearly.”[28]
Bangladesh has neither received nor provided any mine action funding.
The government has provided no formal mine risk education. A variety of initiatives have been taken at the local level to warn the population about the dangers of mines.[29] Local and national newspapers report mine incidents along the border, but people in the affected areas have a high rate of illiteracy. In March 2001, the Landmine Monitor researcher supplied a number of videos on landmines to the BDR Naikongchari to show to the public and to provide to community leaders.
During visits in mine-affected villages in December 2001 and January and March 2002, Landmine Monitor found that a good number of people in those villages are aware of the presence of mines. However, villagers still go into the forest for their livelihood, driven by poverty and hunger.[30] In some cases they try to avoid the paths, which they fear to be mined.
In 2001, three people were killed and six injured in reported antipersonnel mine incidents.[31] In June 2001, two people belonging to the Chak tribe died in a landmine blast, which occurred while they were collecting bamboo.[32] From January through April 2002, there were no reports of human casualties. Wild animals may have caused the many mine blasts occurring between January and April 2002.[33] According to newspaper reports, a number of elephants have been killed or injured.
From various sources, there are reports of mine incidents causing 61 deaths and 125 injuries from 1993 to 2000. Of the deaths, ten occurred from 1993 to 1996, seventeen in 1997, thirteen in 1998, one in 1999, and eight in 2000. For twelve deaths, the year of the incident could not be ascertained. Of the injuries, up to 1998, 124 people were injured, and in 2000, one person was injured. Most of the mine casualties are wood and bamboo cutters.[34]
The government seems to attach little importance to landmine survivor assistance, perhaps reflecting the relatively small number of victims and the remoteness of mine-affected areas. BDR officials stationed near the border area stated, “It is not only because of Bangladesh’s obligation as a ratifying country to the Mine Ban Treaty that we want to help mine victims. On humanitarian grounds also we are ready to do so if anyone asks for it. We have doctors with our battalion.”[35]
In September 2001, Hope Foundation, a sister organization of Memorial Christian Hospital, provided one free artificial leg to a mine survivor. Jaipur Foot, another sister organization of the same hospital, provided two artificial legs to mine survivors in 1998. In 1999, three mine survivors received free artificial legs, and one survivor received treatment from a local NGO, Bangladesh Rehabilitation Center for Trauma Victims. One BDR personnel who stepped on a landmine in 1997 received free treatment in an Army hospital. Apparently, no other survivors, or families of victims, have received any form of help.
In Cox’s Bazar, a philanthropic organization called Baitush Sharaf is setting up an orthopedic unit at their hospital, in collaboration with Aide Medicale et Developpment, a French humanitarian organization. The director of the Baitush Sharaf hospital stated that although the main goal of the unit was to treat rickets patients, “We will be happy to provide emergency medical support to the landmine victims.”[36] The orthopedic unit was scheduled to open by April 2002. Initially it will have 30 beds along with necessary equipment and surgeons, with a target of 50 beds in the future.[37]
There is an orthopedic hospital in Dhaka, and a hospital for disabled children. All government medical college hospitals have orthopedic units, but they are far away from the mine-affected areas. In 2001, the only hospital with a good orthopedic department close to mine-affected areas was the Memorial Christian Hospital; however, in 2002, the new orthopedic unit at the Baitush Sharaf Hospital will also be within easy reach.
A field survey by Landmine Monitor in late 2001 and early 2002 revealed that out of ten mine casualties, nine died on the way to a hospital. The reasons for this high rate of death included: excessive bleeding, delays in reaching the hospital, lack of transportation to get to the hospital, lack of money to pay for transportation or medical assistance.[38]
Handicap International, working in partnership with the Center for Disability in Development, has a center at Alikadam, in the mine-affected area, with a program called “Community Approaches to Handicap and Disability.”[39] However, it does not appear that any landmine survivors have benefited from the program, probably due to lack of knowledge about the services offered.
On 4 April 2001, the Parliament adopted Bangladesh’s first comprehensive disability legislation, the “Bangladesh Persons with Disability Welfare Act-2001”.[40] The legislation includes, among other things, measures to improve access to health care, rehabilitation, education and vocational training, and to raise awareness on disability issues. The Act also establishes a National Coordination Committee for Welfare of the Persons with Disabilities. Although landmine survivors are not specifically mentioned in the Act, they are included in the general definitions in the legislation.
In 2000, the Bangladesh government declared that about 10 percent of the total population of the country is disabled, and formed a trust fund with one hundred million Bangladeshi taka (about US$1.8 million).[41] None of the landmine survivors interviewed have benefited from the trust fund.
| <BAHAMAS | BARBADOS> |
[1] The Constitution of The People’s Republic of Bangladesh, International Treaties, Article-145A. Article 145-A does not prescribe a timeframe for placement of a treaty before Parliament and, according to one legal expert, the Executive can defer submission for an indefinite period of time. Interviews with A.K.M. Shamsul Huda, Lawyer, Constitution expert and former Parliament member, Chittagong, 13 and 28 April 2002.
[2] One legal expert has pointed out that upon ratification, it becomes incumbent upon the government to comply with treaty obligations, and noted that national legislation might not be required because customary international law and the Mine Ban Treaty obligations, which do not call for alteration of domestic law or the constitution, are directly applicable in Bangladesh. Interview with Ridwanul Hoque, Lecturer, Department of Law, University of Chittagong, September 2001 at Chittagong and phone interview and e-mails, 29 and 30 March, 1 and 2 April 2002.
[3] Interview with Rabab Fatima, Counsellor, Bangladesh Mission to the UN, Geneva, 29 May 2002.
[4] Email from Rabab Fatima, Counsellor, Bangladesh Mission to the UN, 4 July 2002.
[5] Interview with Salahuddin Noman Chawdhury, Assistant Secretary, UN wing, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Dhaka, 23 March 2002.
[6] Oral remarks by Rabab Fatima, Counselor of Bangladesh Mission, Geneva, to the Standing Committee, 27 May 2002, notes taken by Human Rights Watch.
[7] Interview with Dr. Mohammed Ali Sarkar, UN desk chief-ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka, 27 January 2002.
[8] Statement by Ambassador Dr. Toufiq Ali, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, to the Third Annual Meeting of States Parties to Amended Protocol II of Convention on Conventional Weapons, Geneva, 10 December 2001.
[9] Interview with Salahuddin Noman Chawdhury, Assistant Secretary, UN wing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka, 23 March 2002.
[10] For further detail see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 432-433.
[11] Interview with Lt. Col. Reza Noor, Commanding Officer, Naikongchari BDR (Bangladesh border security forces), Naikongchari BDR camp, 16 January 2002.
[12] Statement by Ambassador Dr. Toufiq Ali, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, at the Third Annual Meeting of the States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 10 December 2001.
[13] For further details see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 433.
[14] Interview with Lt. Col. Reza Noor, Commanding Officer Naikongchari BDR, Naikongchari BDR camp, 16 January 2002.
[15] Interview with a leader of an NSA of Arakan, Bangladesh-Burma border, 18 January 2002.
[16] Interview with leaders of the NSAs of Arakan and cross-border traders, Bangladesh-Burma border, 26 and 27 March 2002; Abdul Kuddus Rana, “Na Sa Ka has planted mines along Myanmar border anew,” Prothom Aloo (The First Light), 25 March 2002, p. 5; Bandarban reporter, “Na Sa Ka again planted landmines along Bandarban border,” Ittefaque (Way of Events), 24 March 2002, p.1.
[17] Interview with Dr. Jafar Ahmad Hanafi, Project Director, Cox’s Bazar Cultural Center, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, 29 March 2002.
[18] Interview with Lt. Col. Reza Noor, Commanding Officer Naikongchari BDR, Naikongchari BDR camp, 16 January 2002.
[19] Interview with NGO workers, Rangamati, Bangladesh, 1 and 2 January 2002; interview with political leaders and journalists, 11-13 March 2002.
[20] Interview with NSAs of Arakan, Bangladesh-Burma border, December 2001, January and March 2002; and “Burma continues to plant mines along Burma-Bangladesh border,” Kaladan Press Network, 26 October 2001.
[21] Interview with the militant leader of alleged NSA group, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, January and March 2002.
[22] Interview with leaders of NSAs, Bangladesh-Burma border, December 2001, January and March 2002.
[23] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 434 and Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 446.
[24] Interview with Lt. Col. Reza Noor, Naikongchari BDR camp, 16 January 2002 and 18 March 2002.
[25] Email from Landmine Monitor researcher for Kuwait, 7 July 2002. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 434.
[26] Interview with Salauddin Noman, Assistant Secretary, UN wing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka, 23 March 2002.
[27] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 435.
[28] Interview with Lt. Col. Reza Noor and Capt. Yosuf Hassan, Naikongchari BDR camp, 16 January 2002.
[29] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 435.
[30] Landmine Monitor researchers interviewed families of mine victims and survivors in mine-affected villages from 25 to 30 December 2001 and 10 to 17 January 2002. The survey covered about 100 persons in 11 villages.
[31] Sources include local newspapers, interviews with mine-affected villagers from 10 to 17 January 2002, and with leaders of NSAs, 27 March 2002.
[32] Ibid.
[33] Interviews with mine-affected villagers from 10 to 17 January 2002, and with leaders of NSAs, 27 March 2002.
[34] Sources include BDR official papers, newspaper reports, NSA interviews, the NGO Bangladesh Rehabilitation for Trauma Victims, and Landmine Monitor interviews in affected communities.
[35] Interview with Lt. Col. Reza Noor and Capt. Yosuf Hassan, Naikongchari BDR camp, 16 January 2002.
[36] Interview with Sirajul Islam, Director of the Baitush Sharaf Hospital, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, 6 February 2002.
[37] Interview with Carine Moussay, Medical Coordinator, Baitush Sharaf Hospital, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, 10 March 2002.
[38] Interviews with families of mine victims and survivors from 25 to 30 December 2001and 10 to 17 January 2002.
[39] Interview with Rifat S. Khan, Program Coordinator, Handicap International, Dhaka, 24 March 2002.
[40] “Bangladesh Persons with Disability Welfare Act-2001,” accessed on-line at
www.disabilityworld.org/05-06_01/gov/bangladesh.shtml, (15 July 2002).
[41] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 448.
