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Key developments since May 2001: From 18 to 21 September 2001, Nicaragua hosted the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. As President of the Third Meeting of States Parties, Nicaragua has also served as Chair of the Coordinating Committee since September 2001. From September 2000 until September 2001, Nicaragua served as co-chair of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance. Nicaragua has destroyed 115,000 stockpiled antipersonnel mines and plans to destroy the remaining 18,313 mines by September 2002. As of June 2002, Nicaragua had cleared more than 2.5 million square meters of land and 78,374 mines. Nicaragua now expects to complete mine clearance in 2005, not 2004 as previously estimated.
Nicaragua signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified on 30 November 1998 and the treaty entered into force on 1 May 1999. On 7 December 1999 then President Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo signed implementing legislation, which included penal sanctions for violations of the law.[1]
Nicaragua hosted the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Managua from 18-21 September 2001. This was the largest diplomatic meeting that Nicaragua had ever hosted, and the first United Nations-sponsored meeting following the tragic events in the United States on 11 September 2001. Despite some daunting travel difficulties, representatives of 95 governments participated in the meeting, including 67 States Parties, making it the best-attended Meeting of States Parties to date. Nicaragua’s extensive efforts on logistics and planning resulted in a smoothly run and very successful meeting under trying circumstances.
Nicaragua’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Francisco Xavier Aguirre Sacasa, was elected President of the meeting, a role that Nicaragua held until the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002.[2] In remarks to the opening plenary, Minister Sacasa said that the treaty showed what could be achieved by cooperation, including with the essential role of civil society. At the end of the meeting, the Foreign Minister held a joint press conference with Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams and the head of the ICBL delegation, Stephen Goose.
As President, Nicaragua, represented by Minister Counsellor Cecilia Sanchez Reyes, has chaired the Coordinating Committee of States Parties, and played a key role in the intersessional work program, including the development of the Implementation Support Unit following the approval of its establishment at the Third Meeting of States Parties and its start of operations in January 2002. Under Nicaragua’s leadership, enhancements to the intersessional work program were implemented, with a renewed focus on the core humanitarian objectives of the Mine Ban Treaty, and the approaching deadlines for stockpile destruction and clearance of mined areas, as well as the Art. 6.1 obligations regarding victim assistance and socio-economic reintegration. Also in its role as President, Nicaragua’s Permanent Mission in Geneva sent out letters to all States Parties reminding them of their Article 7 reporting obligations and urging participation in the intersessional meetings.
At the intersessional meetings in January and May 2002, Nicaragua made a number of important interventions and presentations in the various Standing Committees, as well as chairing two briefings for missions based in Geneva. In January, Nicaragua and Honduras arranged an informal briefing for donor countries to meet with mine-affected countries from Central America and learn about the mine situation in those countries. In May, Nicaragua co-hosted a ceremony and breakfast reception to acknowledge the landmine survivors participating in the “Raising the Voices” advocacy training program. From September 2000 until September 2001, Nicaragua served as co-chair, together with Japan, of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, Socio-Economic Reintegration and Mine Awareness.
Nicaragua introduced UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M, along with Norway and Belgium, the past, present and future presidents of the meetings of States Parties. The resolution, which called for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, passed on 29 November 2001 with 138 votes in favor, none against and 19 abstentions. Nicaragua encouraged states to support the resolution in its October 2001 statement to the UNGA General Debate on disarmament.[3]
Nicaraguan representatives made presentations at a “Mine Action in Latin America” conference in Miami, from 3-5 December 2001.[4]
Nicaragua submitted its annual Article 7 Report on 22 May 2002, covering an unspecified period until 30 March 2002. Previously, it submitted its initial report on 18 May 2000, and an annual report on 7 May 2001.[5]
Nicaragua is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines, but did not attend the annual Amended Protocol II conference, or the Second CCW Review Conference, held in Geneva in December 2001.
The Centro de Estudios Internacionales (CEI), Landmine Monitor’s country researcher, published its third report on landmines in Nicaragua during the Third Meeting of State Parties.[6] CEI and several other NGOs are members of the National Demining Commission (CDN).
Nicaragua states that it no longer produces antipersonnel landmines and does not have production facilities.[7] Nicaragua imported mines in the past and reported Cuban, Czechoslovakian, and Soviet antipersonnel mines in its stockpiles.[8]
No use of antipersonnel mines by any armed group has been reported in 2001 or 2002. However, on 9 November 2001, Army and Police units raided the hideout of the criminal gang “Frente Unido Andrés Castro,” led by Pilar Lira, and seized a range of weaponry, including two antipersonnel mines.[9]
There are reports of civilians storing and using antipersonnel mines for non-military purposes. Danis Hernández, a landmine survivor who carries out on mine risk education workshops, says that some peasants do not want mines cleared since they prevent cattle theft; others use them for fishing. In one case, a resident of the town of San Fernando kept a stock of antipersonnel mines to trade for materials or for money, since he had heard that the Army was paying for them. Hernández reported that in a four-month period in 2001, some 58 antipersonnel mines were received from civilians in Nueva Segovia. Some had brought live mines to the workshops to hand them over; some kept them under their beds at home; some even used them as doorstops, oblivious to the danger.[10]
On 1 April 2002, the Police in San Fernando Municipality, Nueva Segovia Department, seized eight antipersonnel mines from local residents who had been keeping them in their homes since 1994. They were destroyed by Army mine clearance specialists on 3 April 2002. According to the media article, from one resident the Police seized three PP-MiSr-II, two POMZ-2M, and two PMN antipersonnel mines; from another resident, a PP-MiSr-II mine. The first resident reportedly told the authorities that he had kept the mines at home for eight years, as souvenirs, since he thought they were harmless.[11]
At the beginning of 1999 Nicaragua had a stockpile of 136,813 antipersonnel mines.[12] From April 1999 to September 2001, Nicaragua destroyed 90,000 antipersonnel mines in eight separate destructions.[13]
On 17 September 2001, 20,000 antipersonnel mines were destroyed at the National Sergeant School near Managua in the eighth destruction event, the day before the opening of the Third Meeting of States Parties. Over 300 people witnessed the destruction including then President Arnoldo Aleman, diplomatic and NGO participants to the meeting of States Parties a well as media at a public ceremony.
While this destruction should have left Nicaragua with 46,813 mines in stocks, in its May 2002 Article 7 Report, Nicaragua reported that following a process of certification of the stockpile, a total of 43,313 antipersonnel mines were left as of 30 March 2002.[14]
On 25 April 2002, 15,000 mines were destroyed by the Infantry Battalion of the Army’s Second Regional Military Command, in Chinandega department in an event attended by the newly elected President, Enrique Bolaños, and other distinguished guests.[15] On 20 June 2002, another 10,000 mines were destroyed at the National Sergeant School.[16]
Nicaragua plans to destroy the remaining mines by September 2002.[17] The treaty-mandated deadline for completion of stockpile destruction is 1 May 2003. During the 2002 intersessional meetings, Nicaragua stated that it was willing to share its technical expertise in stockpile destruction with other countries.
In its March 2002 Article 7 Report, Nicaragua confirmed that it is retaining 1,971 antipersonnel mines for training purposes, as permitted under Article 3.[18] Of this total, 286 mines were transferred to the OAS/IADB MARMINCA program for canine training, beginning on 29 September 1999.[19] The number of mines retained has not changed since 1999, indicating that Nicaragua has not yet expended any of the mines.
Nicaragua’s landmine problem is a result of the 1979-1990 internal conflict. In addition to mines, a large quantity of unexploded ordnance (UXO) such as bombs, fragmentation grenades, mortars, and ammunition were also left in areas where combat took place.[20] The mine and UXO problem is located along the northern border with Honduras and also in a number of interior locations, including the departments of Jinotega, Madriz, Nueva Segovia, and the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN).[21]
In its March 2002 Article 7 Report, Nicaragua stated that there were an estimated 61,875 mines still left in the ground, and of the 313 kilometers of the northern border that were mine-affected, 129 kilometers have been cleared and 184 kilometers remain.[22] Mined areas were located in: Bayuncun, La Cantina, La Explosión, El Guayabo, Gualacatu, Llano Guapinol, Murupuchi, Namasli, El Porvenir, Río Poteca, San José, and El Ural.[23]
Nicaragua also reported that the identification of suspected mine-affected areas is ongoing. Civilians informed authorities of suspected mined areas in Boaco, Chinandega, Chontales, Estelí, Jinotega, Madriz, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Río San Juan, Zelaya Norte, and Zelaya Sur.[24]
In April 2001, Nicaragua reported that it had completed clearance of mines that had been mapped and registered along 96 kilometers of the southern border with Costa Rica, and declared the border the country’s first mine-free region.[25]
Despite the government’s demining efforts, UNICEF reported in 2002 that “locals are often forced to carry out mine clearance activities themselves in order to use their land.”[26] (See below for more on “amateur deminers”).
Nicaragua’s National Demining Plan, first introduced in April 1999, stated that approximately $27 million was needed to complete stockpile destruction and mine clearance in the country.[27]
The Organization of American States (OAS) Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, through its Program for Integral Action against Antipersonnel Mines (AICMA, Acción Integral Contra las Minas Antipersonal), is responsible for coordinating and supervising the Assistance Program for Demining in Central America (PADCA, Programa de Asistencia al Desminado en Centroamérica), with the technical support of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB).
The IADB is responsible for organizing a team of international supervisors in charge of training and certification, known as the Assistance Mission for Mine Clearance in Central America (MARMINCA, Misión de Asistencia para la Remoción de Minas en Centro América).
PADCA and MARMINCA have mine action programs in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras. In Nicaragua, the Army is responsible for clearance operations, along with PADCA and MARMINCA.
For the 2001 budget, the OAS PADCA program raised approximately $4.72 million from the United States ($1.27 million), Norway ($1.15 million), Canada ($979,232), Sweden ($639,964), United Kingdom, ($271,971), Spain ($255,340), Italy ($100,000) and Japan ($45,000).[28] This represents a decrease from $4.92 million raised in the year 2000.
The OAS PADCA program has suffered a serious financial crisis since December 2001.[29] In Nicaragua, the OAS had to provide “bridging funds” until donors renewed commitments to Nicaragua’s demining operational fronts three and four.[30] According to Sergio Caramagna, the Director of the OAS National Office in Nicaragua, approximately $3 million is required for mine action in 2003, and approximately $8.5 million is needed through 2005.[31] According to the Chief of the Operational and Planning Directorate of the Nicaraguan Army, Nicaragua requires $6.5 million to cover costs for completion of mine clearance operations.[32] In addition, funding is being sought for two helicopters for medical evacuations, and to acquire more metal detectors.
Funding sources for mine action activities derive from a number of areas. The three operational fronts (3, 4 and 5), the canine unit and the activities of the independent platoon are funded via the OAS. Two other fronts (1 and 2) are funded bilaterally by an international donor, as are the activities of the heavy equipment unit. Still other activities like those related to UNICEF are funded from other sources. Many of these projects, activities and contributions span timeframes not easily captured and described as “calendar year” expenditures.[33]
According to the Minister of Defense, the US Department of State provided $50,000 through the OAS to strengthen the operational capacity of the National Demining Commission.[34] The US reports that in addition to its funding of the OAS/IADB program, in 2001 the Defense Department helped Nicaragua in conducting a metal detector evaluation.[35] UNOPS reports that it has worked with UNMAS to provide program management services needed to implement programs in Nicaragua.[36]
The Comisión Nacional de Desminado (CND), established in November 1998, is the government body responsible for mine action in Nicaragua. In January 2001, Nicaragua’s Deputy Minister of Defense, María Auxiliadora Cuadra de Frech, was appointed as Executive Secretary, and three subcommittees were established to oversee mine action: stockpile destruction and mine clearance; victim assistance and rehabilitation; and education, prevention, and minefield signaling. Representatives of the government, NGOs, and international organizations are members of the subcommittees. As of June 2002, 27 governmental and non-governmental institutions were represented on the CND.[37] The CND does not have its own budget, but relies on the financial support of the Ministry of Defense. It has three full-time staff.[38]
In the half of 2002, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) established its first Regional Support Centre (RSC) in Managua. It has set up the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), a database system that houses information on mine-affected land and those suspected of being mine-affected, progress on mine clearance in each area and complete information on incidents and landmine casualties.[39] The primary task of the RSC is “the provision of first level user support, including on-site training, technical advice and maintenance, for IMSMA users in Latin America.”[40] The GICHD also held regional briefings on the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) in Nicaragua in 2001.[41]
In its 2002 Article 7 Report, Nicaragua reported that a plan for information gathering for IMSMA was developed at Level I for the whole country and at Level II in regions where mine clearance operations have been completed (the departments of Río San Juan and Nueva Segovia).[42]
Mine clearance is the responsibility of the Pequeñas Unidades de Desminado (PUD), or Small Demining Units, of the Engineer Corps of the Nicaraguan Army. Approximately 650 Army members are trained and equipped to engage in mine clearance.[43] As envisaged in the 1999 National Demining Plan, mine clearance is conducted along five operational fronts; each front is a company-sized 100-person unit. In addition, there are three platoon-sized units, with approximately 50 persons per unit:[44] the Chontales- Jinotega mechanized unit; a marking unit; and an independent unit that includes a mine detecting dog team.[45]
As of March 2002, Nicaragua reported that a total of 2,515,487 square meters of land had been cleared for agriculture and grazing. Comparing figures in the two most recent Article 7 Reports, it would appear that 395,350 square meters of land were cleared from April 2001 to March 2002.[46]
From 1989 to 30 March 2002, a total of 73,768 landmines were destroyed and 225 kilometers of border were cleared (129 kilometers of the northern border and 96 kilometers of the southern border).[47] Nicaragua reported that 668,069 people had benefited from mine clearance operations.[48]
According to a June 2002 update provided to Landmine Monitor by the Nicaraguan Army, 703 of 991 objectives had been demined, leaving 288. A total of 78,374 laid mines had been destroyed, leaving 57,269 mines in the ground.[49]
In 2002, Nicaragua expects to declare Boaco, Chinandega, Chontales departments and the Southern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) landmine free.[50] Nicaragua now expects that mine clearance will be completed in 2005, not 2004 as previously estimated.[51]
In an article published by James Madison University in mid-2001 on amateur deminers in rural areas of Nicaragua, one farmer reported that he had cleared 500 mines, of which nearly 200 still had the safety pin fitted because “the reservists and recent recruits who laid them did not take the risk of removing the safety pin in case the mine went off.” The same farmer added that he was fed up with local people breaking down his fences and stealing his mines to use in illegal river fishing. Another farmer, near the town of Mulukukú, reportedly cleared 200 mines for a large landowner who only paid him approximately $200 for the clearance work. These amateur deminers use machetes and sticks to clear mines.[52]
Mine risk education (MRE) in Nicaragua is conducted by a number of actors, including the Comisión Conjunta de Discapacitados de Madriz para la Paz y Reconstrucción (ORD/ADRN), the Nicaraguan Red Cross, the OAS, UNICEF, and NGOs. According to the OAS PADCA Nicaragua Coordinator, a number of significant advances in MRE were made in 2001.[53]
The CND’s Sub-Commission on Education, Prevention and Reintegration has reportedly been designing and implementing a series of actions and campaigns for the prevention of mine accidents with the objective of implementing a National Plan of Preventive Education for Antipersonnel Mine Accidents (Plan Nacional de Educación Preventiva de Accidentes con Minas Antipersonales).[54] The plan includes: dissemination of educational materials through radio and television; educational materials approved by the CND placed in mine-affected zones; signaling of mined areas as well as warning signs on roads near the most mine-affected areas; and activities of the mine clearance units in the mine-affected areas.[55]
In addition, the Nicaraguan Army developed and implemented a Dissemination and Mine Accident Prevention Campaign (Campaña de Divulgación y Prevención de Accidentes con Mina).[56]
According to the CND, a National Prevention Guide (Guía Nacional de Prevención) for the production of MRE materials, has been prepared with the support of UNICEF and OAS PADCA. In addition, the CDN published a “popular version of the Ottawa Convention which details advances made in mine action in Nicaragua, and includes prevention messages.”[57]
UNICEF plans to carry out most MRE activities in close cooperation with CND and its Sub-Commission. In 2002 and 2003, efforts will center on the establishment and consolidation of common standards for MRE. According to UNICEF, clarification and consensus building has yet to be achieved in methodology and monitoring of MRE programs.[58] UNICEF’s budget of the project in 2002 was $175,000.[59]
According to UNICEF, together with the OAS as an implementing partner and in direct coordination with the Nicaraguan Army, a community liaison project will be carried out to improve confidence building and information sharing with affected communities located close to the northern border.[60]
According to the ICRC, the Nicaraguan Red Cross, with the support of the ICRC and UNICEF, continued a child-to-child mine/UXO-awareness program in 2001, which targeted children of school age. Thirty-three young people were trained under this program to lead dissemination sessions in school in the RAAN, where Army mine clearance activities were taking place.[61]
According to the coordinator of the Joint Commission of Disabled Persons of Madriz (Comisión Conjunta de Discapacitados de Madriz), Uriel Carazo, the Commission is providing mine awareness training in 27 schools in the northern border zones.[62] The Commission also reports to be teaching children the different types of mine warning signs to prevent them entering dangerous zones, and how to mark mines they find without touching them. The Commission also has a mine awareness project involving baseball teams, which reaches all communities in the northern border zone.[63]
UNICEF has expressed concern that local populations seem to have lost their sense of fear towards mines and UXO.[64] Danis Hernández, a landmine survivor who carries out mine risk education workshops in rural communities in Jalapa and San Fernando Municipalities in Nueva Segovia department, has also remarked on the problem of loss of fear towards mines and UXOs in Nicaragua. According to Hernández, who is a member of ADRN (Asociación de Discapacitados de la Resistencia Nicaragüense) and works the OAS PADCA program in Nueva Segovia, estimates that 70 percent of local residents in the two municipalities have no fear of mines, including most males; even some landmine survivors continue to take risks.[65]
In 2001, OAS PADCA reported 16 new landmine/UXO casualties; two people were killed, 12 injured, and the status of two other casualties was unknown.[66] Four deminers were injured in two separate accidents in 2001. On 26 January 2001, a deminer lost a leg and two others suffered facial injuries at Panchito airstrip in San Francisco Libre municipality near Managua, after one stepped on a mine while working.[67] On 3 September 2001, a 24 year-old deminer was injured after stepping on a landmine in Abisinia, Jinotega department.[68]
As of June 2002, OAS PADCA had recorded 509 casualties, of which 37 were killed and 472 injured. Of the total casualties, 40 were deminers, including five killed and 35 injured.[69] Most of the casualties were male peasants between 30 and 40 years old.[70] The first casualties were reported in 1982.
In an accident on 3 June 2002, a mine clearance instructor was killed at the National Sergeant School near Managua, and another two instructors, a soldier, and the School’s cook were severely injured.[71]
Mine/UXO casualties have been recorded in 13 departments.[72] Casualites occurred in the following departments: Estelí, 2; Madriz, 22; Nueva Segovia, 188; Chinandega, 26; León, 2; Managua, 10; Rivas, 1; Rio San Juan, 4; Chontales, 18; Jinotega, 106; Matagalpa, 60; R.A.A.N, 36; and R.A.A.S, 34. The total number of casualities was 509.
In 2001, the government of Nicaragua claimed a “shift in course” in mine action, towards “placing people and community rehabilitation at the heart of new programs.[73] According to the Minister of Defense, efforts are being made to ensure that survivor assistance becomes an integral part of the public health system, and of other State institutions including the Ministry of the Family (MIFAMILIA), the Institute for Youth, and the National Technological Institute (INATEC).[74]
Nicaragua’s May 2001 Article 7 report included a completed Form J on victim assistance which listed organizations and agencies involved in first aid, medical care, rehabilitation, and socio-economic reintegration.[75] The Regional Directory of Rehabilitation Resources lists 231 organizations in Nicaragua that provide services to persons with disabilities, including medical and psychosocial care, professional rehabilitation, awareness and information, economic support and community-based rehabilitation.[76]
Survivor assistance falls within the mandate of the CND. Consultations are being held between CND and the National Council for Prevention and Rehabilitation [Consejo Nacional de Prevención y Rehabilitación] to find effective mechanisms to improve the social reintegration of mine survivors.[77] However, according to the CND, there is no consensus on appropriate rehabilitation policies for landmine survivors at present, and the CND, through the National Council for Prevention and Rehabilitation, needs to play more of a facilitating role between the Ministry of Health and civil society organizations.[78]
Handicap International (HI) provides support to the services of physical medicine and rehabilitation at one orthopedic center and four physiotherapy centers in Trinidad, Estelí department. The project provides material, organizational and technical support, and is restarting a community-based rehabilitation network. In June 2001, HI signed a partnership agreement with the National Demining Commission, under which HI will provide technical advice to help it to assume its functions.[79]
The Polus Center for Social and Economic Development Inc. continues to assist persons with disabilities in Nicaragua, particularly those who have lost limbs due to war, landmines and disease.[80] Walking Unidos is the Polus Center’s Prosthetic Outreach Program in León, Nicaragua. The program provides prosthetic/orthotic services, which are free of charge or at a reduced cost for the poor. The center produces above and below knee prostheses. Since 2000, Walking Unidos has provided over 280 prostheses, and repaired another 250. A “cyber café”, opened in León, employs some of the beneficiaries of the prosthetic program, with revenues used to support the Walking Unidos project.[81]
In March 2002, the U.S. Global Care Unlimited, based in Tenafly Secondary School in New Jersey, made a donation of $1,500 to the OAS, to support the rehabilitation of a 20 year-old landmine survivor in Juigalpa who lost both legs when she stepped on a landmine under a high-tension electrical tower in 1992.[82]
On 18-19 June 2001, prosthetic technicians from Nicaragua attended the First Regional Conference on Victim Assistance and Technologies in Managua, organized by the OAS and the Center for International Rehabilitation (CIR).[83] CIR has developed a Lower Extremity Distance Learning program for prosthetic technicians in Nicaragua which also includes a clinical component implements by a qualified prosthetist who provides hands-on training.[84]
The OAS, Landmine and Victim Assistance Program has provided over 409 people who have no social security or army benefits, with transportation to a rehabilitation center, lodging, food, prostheses, therapy, surgery and medications. In 2001, 139 people received rehabilitative or specialized medical attention through this program.[85]
The OAS AICMA, in conjunction with the National Technological Institute of Nicaragua (INATEC) and supported by Global Care Unlimited, a U.S. non-profit organization established by a group of New Jersey students and teachers, developed the Post-Rehabilitation Job Training Project. INATEC coordinated training for 42 landmine survivors at national facilities in courses that included auto mechanics, computer skills, carpentry, shoemaking, tailoring, and cooking.[86]
The joint Canada-Mexico-Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) tripartite survivor assistance project continues in Nicaragua. The project supports prosthetic-orthotic services, vocational training and placement programs for persons with disabilities, and the integration of community-based rehabilitation into the networks of primary health care services.[87]
The Canadian NGO Falls Brook Centre continues to implement a survivor assistance project in northern Nicaragua called Creating Energy and Building the Future which provides landmine survivors with prostheses, if needed, and training in solar electrification. Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funding for the project ended in May 2001, and since then funding has been provided by private donors and through small income generation activities by the landmine survivors themselves, who sell and install solar energy systems in rural areas. To July 2002, the project has provided 40 landmines survivors with prostheses and other medical assistance, trained 25 landmine survivors in solar energy technology, and provided solar electrification in 56 rural communities. Falls Brook Centre is also in the second year of a CIDA-funded Kitchen Garden project which assists landmine survivors in four rural communities suffering from high levels of malnutrition, illiteracy and poverty. The project involves organic food production including vegetables, small tree nurseries, perennial plants, medicinal plants, small animal production, and grains, in survivors own backyards.[88]
Landmine survivor assistance programs in Nicaragua are reportedly not meeting the needs of survivors. It is necessary to increase the physiotherapy and orthopedic capacities of the Ministry of Health; to extend coverage of services; to increase the prosthetic production capacity; and to ensure the organizational and financial sustainability of these services in the medium and long term. In addition, the reintegration of mine survivors is extremely complex in a poor country like Nicaragua, where most of the population does not have access to the labor market. The OAS/INATEC project will improve the situation, but it is far from being able to respond to all needs.[89]
Law 202 on Prevention, Rehabilitation and Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, approved on 21 September 1995, relates to social reintegration; and on 25 August 1997, Executive Decree No.50-97 established the legal framework for improving the quality of life and assuring the full integration of persons with disabilities into society.[90]
Nicaragua was co-chair, with Japan, of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration for the year to September 2001.
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[1] Law for the Prohibition of Production, Purchase, Sale, Import, Export, Transit, Use and Possession of Antipersonnel Landmines, Law No. 321, published in the Official Gazette on 12 January 2000. Article I of this law adds, “installation” to the prohibition on antipersonnel mines. Article III states that the Armed Forces must destroy its stockpiles in the “period determined by the relevant authorities.” Article VI states that persons who violate the Law will be charged with “exposing the public to danger,” and will be charged accordingly. See “Prisión para vendedores de minas, “ Confidencial, No. 158, 5-11 September 1998, p. 5.
[2] Final Report, Third Meeting of State Parties, 10 January 2002. See www.gichd.ch/mbc/all_meetings/3MSP.
[3] Statement by Mario H. Castellón, Alternate Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations, New York, 12 October 2001.
[4] The US Department of Defense and the Organization of American States (OAS) sponsored the conference. See http://hdic.jmu.edu/conferences/latinamerica/.
[5] While the reporting period is not specified in either report, the first report contained information as of 30 September 1999 and the second contained information as of 20 April 2001.
[6] Centro de Estudios Internacionales, “Las minas antipersonales en Nicaragua: Tercer Informe Independiente,” undated, 72-page booklet.
[7] Article 7 Report, Form E and Form H, Point 1, 22 May 2002.
[8] Article 7 Report, Form B, 7 May 2001.
[9] Moisés Martínez and Herberto Jarquín, “Golpean al FUAC,” La Prensa (Managua), 10 November 2001; “‘Tyson’ se salva descalzo y armado sólo de revólver,” El Nuevo Diario (Managua), 15 November 2001. It is not known if any charges were brought according to the domestic legislation implementing the Mine Ban Treaty.
[10] Landmine Monitor (MAC) interview with Danis Hernández, intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, 28 May 2002.
[11] Roger Olivas, “Convivió 8 años con la muerte. Guardó minas como ‘recuerdo,’” El Nuevo Diario, 6 April 2002.
[12] For more detail, see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 282.
[13] Article 7 Report, Form D, Table 3, 22 May 2002.
[14] This includes 14,680 PMN; 9,843 PMN-2; 1,640 PP-Mi-Sr-II; 1,042 POMZ-2; and 16,108 POMZ-2M mines. Article 7 Report, Introduction and Forms B and D, 22 May 2002.
[15] “Declaran a Chinandega territorio libre de minas,” La Prensa, 26 April 2002; Esteban Solis R., “Declarada Villanueva ‘libre de minas’,” El Nuevo Diario, 26 April 2002.
[16] Luis Felipe Palacios, “Ejército destruye diez mil minas,” La Prensa, 21 June 2002; Vladimir López, “Ejército on amenaza en RAAN. Destruyen 10 mil minas en la Escuela de Sargentos ‘Andrés Castro,’” El Nuevo Diario, 21 June 2002.
[17] Article 7 Report, Introduction, 22 May 2002.
[18] This includes 500 PMN, 500 PMN-2, 100 PP-MiSr-II, 50 OZM-4, 50 PMFH, 100 POMZ-2, 500 POMZ-2M, 100 MON-50, 11 MON-100, and 10 MON-200 mines. Article 7 Report, Form D, Table 1, 22 May 2002.
[19] Article 7 Report, Form D, 22 May 2002. The OAS/IADB MARMINCA program is explained in a later section. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 358.
[20] UNICEF, “Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Awareness (UXO) Education in Nicaragua through Community Liaison,” UN Portfolio of Mine-Related Projects, April 2001, p. 184.
[21] Country report on Nicaragua, United Nations Mine Action “Emine” website, last updated 2 May 2002, www.mineaction.org (23 July 2002).
[22] Article 7 Report, Introduction, 22 May 2002.
[23] Article 7 Report, “Tasks carried out regarding IMSMA” Section, 22 May 2002, pp. 30-32.
[24] Article 7 Report, Introduction, 22 May 2002.
[25] Ibid.; see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.359.
[26] Country report on Nicaragua, United Nations Mine Action “Emine” website, last updated 2 May 2002, www.mineaction.org (23 July 2002).
[27] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 360. According to the Organization of American States, based on over eight years of operational experience, the OAS coordinated program requires approximately $400,000 to fund a front-sized unit for each six-month period of field operations. Consequently, 6.5 fronts at $800,000 per year over a five-year period (2000-2004), produced a general requirement for approximately $26 to $27 million. (A front is a company-sized, 100 person unit). Letter to Landmine Monitor from Sergio Caramagna, Director, OAS National Office in Nicaragua, 11 January 2001; Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from William McDonough, Coordinator, PACDA, Organization of American States, 26 July 2001.
[28] In previous years other donors to the program have included: Argentina, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Honduras, and the Netherlands. “OAS Mine Action Program: Statement of Contributions Received by December 2001, 1992-2001,” Non-official table provided in email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Carl Case, OAS, 18 June 2002.
[29] See “Proyecto de Resolución: Apoyo al Programa de Acción Integral Contral las Minas Antipersonal en Centroamérica,” AG/doc 4094/02, 15 May 2002. Document prepared for the XXXII OAS General Assembly, Bridgetown, Barbados, http://www.oas.org/xxxiiga/espanol/documentos/docs_esp/AGdoc4094_02.htm.
[30] Col. William McDonough. “Report of the OAS-Mine Action Program to the Committee on Hemispheric Security,” 14 March 2002.
[31] Response by Sergio Caramagna, Director, OAS National Office in Nicaragua, to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, 25 June 2002.
[32] Information provided to Landmine Monitor by Brigadier General César Delgadillo Cardenal, Chief of the Operational and Planning Directorate of the Nicaraguan Army, 14 March 2002.
[33] Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Col. William McDonough, Coordinator, OAS PADCA, 5 August 2002.
[34] Response by Minister of Defense José Adán Guerra, to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, 28 June 2002.
[35] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” November 2001, p. 37.
[36] See United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) contribution to Landmine Monitor Report 2002 appendices.
[37] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Minister of Defense José Adán Guerra, 28 June 2002.
[38] Response by Minister of Defense José Adán Guerra, to Landmine Monitor questionnaire, 28 June 2002.
[39] Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), Annual Report 2000, 25 April 2001; also OAS, “Informe del Secretario General sobre la implementación de las Resoluciones 1745 (apoyo a PADEP) y 1751 (apoyo a PADCA),” CP/doc.3432/01 rev.1,7 May 2001.
[40] See Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) contribution to Landmine Monitor Report 2002 appendices.
[41] Ibid.
[42] Article 7 Report, “Tasks carried out regarding IMSMA” Section, 22 May 2002, pp.30-32.
[43] Article 7 Report, Introduction, 22 May 2002.
[44] Letter from Sergio Caramagna, Director, OAS National Office in Nicaragua, to Landmine Monitor, 11 January 2001; email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Col. William McDonough, Coordinator, OAS PADCA, 26 July 2001.
[45] Article 7 Report, Form E, “Cronograma de Operaciones de Desminado Proyectado para el Año 2002,” 22 May 2002, p.21-23. The independent unit functions in operational fronts 3 and 5.
[46] Article 7 Report, Form G, Table 2, p. 26, Table 2, p. 33, and Introduction, 22 May 2002; Article 7 Report, 7 May 2001. Comparing the two reports, it also appears that Nicaragua destroyed 8,894 mines, and cleared the areas around a hydroelectric station, eight bridges, six high-tension electrical towers, and a landing strip from April 2001-March 2002.
[47] Article 7 Report, Form E, Table 3, p. 20; Form G, Table 2, p. 26, 22 May 2002. The numbers reported in Table 3 do not seem to add up correctly, citing 211 square meters cleared instead of 225.
[48] Article 7 Report, Form G, Table 2, p. 33, 22 May 2002.
[49] See Nicaraguan Army, “Statistical summary of national mine clearance from 1989 to 30 June 2002,” 28 June 2002.
[50] Article 7 Report, Introduction, 22 May 2002; Article 7 Report, Introduction, 7 May 2001.
[51] Article 7 Report, Introduction, 22 May 2002.
[52] Russell Gasser, “Interview with an amateur deminer,” in “Landmines in Central & South America,” Journal of Mine Action, Issue 5.2, Summer 2001, p.46-48.
[53] Landmine Monitor interview with Sergio Caramagna, Director, OAS National Office in Nicaragua, 4 March 2002.
[54] Article 7 Report, Form I, 22 May 2002.
[55] Ibid.
[56] Ibid.
[57] Comisión Nacional de Desminado, “Memoria de Labores 2001.”
[58] Country report on Nicaragua, United Nations Mine Action “Emine” website, last updated 2 May 2002, www.mineaction.org (23 July 2002).
[59] UN Mine Action, Portfolio of Mine-related Projects: Nicaragua, updated 2 May 2002, checked 20 July 2002.
[60] Ibid.
[61] International Committee of the Red Cross contribution to Landmine Monitor Report 2002 appendices.
[62] Interview with Uriel Carazo, Joint Commission of Disabled Persons of Madriz, 1 July 2002.
[63] Ibid.
[64] Country report on Nicaragua, United Nations Mine Action “Emine” website, last updated 2 May 2002, www.mineaction.org (23 July 2002).
[65] Landmine Monitor (MAC) interview with Danis Hernández, at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, 28 May 2002.
[66] IMSMA Web Services Country Edition test in cooperation with Nicaragua. Presented at the Third Meeting of States Parties, Managua, 18-21 September 2001. Accessed at
www.imsma.ethz.ch/en/project/countryedition.asp#reports (2 August 2002).
[67] “Tres heridos en explosión de mina,” La Prensa (Managua), 29 January 2001.
[68] “Mina hiere a zapador,” El Nuevo Diario (Managua), 16 September 2001.
[69] OAS PADCA, Victims Report, June 2002, accessed at
http://www.oeadesminado.org.ni/reportes/junio.pdf (2 August 2002).
[70] Interview with Sergio Caramagna, Director, OAS National Office in Nicaragua, 4 March 2002.
[71] Mario Sánchez P., “Mina destroza a sargento,” La Prensa (Managua) 4 June 2002; “Un soldado muerto y tres heridos por explosión de mina en Nicaragua,” El Colombiano (Medellín, Colombia) 4 June 2002.
[72] OAS PADCA, Victims Report, June 2002, accessed at http://www.oeadesminado.org.ni/reportes/junio.pdf (2 August 2002).
[73] Statement by José Adán Guerra, Minister of Defense, on the occasion of the XV Meeting of the CND, 29 January 2001.
[74] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by José Adán Guerra, Minister of Defense, 26 February 2002.
[75] For details see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 369.
[76] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by José Adán Guerra, Minister of Defense, 26 February 2002.
[77] Ibid.
[78] Comisión Nacional de Desminado Humanitario, “Memorias de Labores 2001.”
[79] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 369; see also ICBL Portfolio of Landmine Victim Assistance Programs, accessed at www.landminevap.org.
[80] UN Mine Action, Portfolio of Mine-related Projects: Nicaragua, updated 2 May 2002, checked 20 July 2002.
[81] ICBL Portfolio of Landmine Victim Assistance Programs; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 370.
[82] “Víctima de mina recibió donación de niños EEUU,” La Prensa/EFE (Managua), 8 March 2002.
[83] “Ayudarán más víctimas de minas antipersonales. Primera conferencia regional de rehabilitación y technología,” El Nuevo Diario (Managua), 19 June 2001.
[84] ICBL Portfolio of Landmine Victim Assistance Programs; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 370.
[85] Colonel William McDonough. “Report of the OAS-Mine Action Program to the Committee on Hemispheric Security,” 14 March 2002; see also ICBL Portfolio of Landmine Victim Assistance Programs.
[86] Colonel William McDonough. “Report of the OAS-Mine Action Program to the Committee on Hemispheric Security,” 14 March 2002.
[87] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 370.
[88] Email to Landmine Monitor (MAC) from Peter Sundberg, Project Coordinator, Falls Brook Centre, Somoto, Nicaragua, 30 July 2002.
[89] Interview with Philippe Dicquemare, Program Director, Handicap International, Managua, 14 March 2002.
[90] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by José Adán Guerra, Minister of Defense, 18 March 2002.
