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Key developments since May 2001: In 2001, 54 new landmine/UXO casualties were reported, a small decrease from the previous year. No systematic demining has occurred, although the Army engages in some mine clearance. From mid-2000 to mid-2001, Handicap International’s mine risk education program reached the population in 680 of 776 accessible villages, and benefited 59,583 school children.
Senegal signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, ratified it on 23 September 1998 and became a State Party on 1 March 1999. There is no specific implementation legislation, but violations of Mine Ban Treaty provisions would be sanctioned by national constitutional law and under the 2001 Penal Code.[1] The National Commission on Small Arms is in charge of the mine issue,[2] but a separate National Commission on Legal Texts[3] is studying various legislative reforms and considering national legislation vis-a-vis international treaties ratified by Senegal.[4]
Senegal submitted its third Article 7 transparency report on 22 April 2002, for the period from 1 January 2001 to 1 April 2002.[5]
Senegal attended the Third Meeting of State Parties in Managua, Nicaragua, in September 2001 and the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in January and May 2002. In an interview with Landmine Monitor during the January 2002 meetings, a military official stated that Senegal would refuse to participate in joint military operations where antipersonnel mines might be used by militaries of another state.[6]
Senegal participated in the regional “Conference on Arms and International Humanitarian Law: the CCW and the Ottawa Convention” in Abuja, Nigeria, organized by the ICRC in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States on 10-11 October 2001. In November 2001 Senegal voted in favor of UN General Assembly resolution 56/24M supporting the Mine Ban Treaty.
Senegal is a State Party to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but did not attend the third annual meeting of States Parties to the Amended Protocol or the Second CCW Review Conference, both of which were held in Geneva in December 2001.
Senegal states that it has never produced, transferred or stockpiled antipersonnel mines.[7] Authorities claim to have never used antipersonnel mines.[8]
In the Banjul Declaration of 26 December 1999, the Senegalese government and the rebel Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MDFC) committed themselves not to use antipersonnel landmines.[9] Past editions of Landmine Monitor have shown ongoing use of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines by MFDC rebels in Casamance since that time. However, Landmine Monitor has not received any specific allegations of use by MDFC in this reporting period, since May 2001. A government official claimed that MDFC use of mines continues.[10]
The most mine-affected area is the region of Niaguis, Southern Casamance bordering Guinea-Bissau.[11] According to Col. Abdoulaye Aziz Ndao, the number of casualties in general has decreased significantly, because fewer new mines have been laid and because more mined areas are marked.[12] However, despite a slight decline in the number of new victims of landmines in Casamance, the suspected presence of landmines continues to concern many people in the region, who view the mine problem as the main obstacle to the development of the region.[13]
Regional agricultural production has decreased dramatically because of landmines. One account states, “The regional service for Agriculture for the Ziguinchor region estimates that the agricultural activities decreased 80% in the southwest region of Casamance, which was the richest zone of the region thanks to the diversity of agricultural activities.”[14] Even when crops are harvested, it remains extremely difficult to ensure transport of the produce as few are willing to risk their lives and vehicles on roads suspected of being mined. Tourism, another key economic activity in Casamance, has suffered from the presence of mines, especially in the Cap-Skiring area, one of the most visited sites in Africa.[15]
In its 2002 Article 7 Report, the government for the first time identified the types of emplaced mines found in Senegal: EXPAL, PMN, TM46, PRB ENCRIER, and K 35 BG.[16]
Most mine-related humanitarian initiatives in Senegal target survivor assistance and mine risk education programs, rather than mine surveys, assessments, mapping, marking or clearance.[17]
During his official visit to Geneva in September 2001, the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, met with the Director of the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining, to seek assistance for mine clearance in the Casamance region. The President reaffirmed the importance of the mine clearance in Casamance as a prerequisite for real development of the region.[18]
According to Col. Abdoulaye Aziz Ndao, systematic humanitarian mine clearance remains impossible as long as there is no peace agreement with rebel forces.[19] The Army has occasionally conducted mine clearance in the regions of Ziguinchor and Kolda to allow populations to get back to their homes.[20] In its Article 7 Report of April 2002, the government reports that 133 antipersonnel mines, 47 antivehicle mines, and three “mixed” mines have been destroyed as a result of such operations.[21]
Handicap International is the main provider of mine risk education (MRE) in Casamance.[22] Through its MRE program, people in affected areas of the region are informed through community activities, and children are reached through the educational network.[23] HI reports that from mid-2000 to mid-2001, the program reached the population in 680 of 776 accessible villages, via 101 community volunteers. The MRE program has benefited 59,583 school children through the work of 1,074 primary school teachers. The HI Casamance program’s budget (excluding structural costs) for 2001 was 100 million FCFA (US$150,000). Donors include ECHO (until March 2001), HIF (April-July 2001), and USAID since August 2001. [24]
UNICEF has developed a landmine awareness campaign for the region. A song was composed in five local languages and recorded on CD and tape. Murals have been painted on the walls of the main high schools of the Ziguinchor region, and notebooks for children attending primary schools feature a message on how to prevent mine accidents.[25]
In 2001, 54 new landmine/UXO casualties were reported, of which eight people were killed and 46 injured, including 48 men, three women, and three children.[26] This represents a small decrease from the 65 new casualties reported in 2000, which included 22 killed and 43 injured.[27] Handicap International has recorded another 452 landmine/UXO casualties between 1993 and 1999, including 91 killed, 324 injured, and 37 casualties where the date of the incident could not be determined.[28]
It is believed that the reported figures on mine casualties may not reflect the true reality of the number of new landmine/UXO victims in the region because of the influence of Islamic practice (burials take place as soon as possible after a death) and the absence of death registries.[29]
In Form C of its Article 7 report, Senegal reported that 89 antipersonnel mines, 59 antivehicle mines, one “mixed” mine and four other ordnance had been victim activated in the period 1 January 2001 to 1 April 2002.[30] It could be supposed that this caused more than the 65 casualties reported in 2001. NGOs and other mine survivor initiatives in the region are encouraging the local population to report landmine incidents.
Casualties continue to be reported in 2002. Handicap International recorded three men injured in mine incidents in January,[31] and in March, a landmine explosion killed eight people, including a Gambian national.[32]
Due to a lack of national resources, assistance to mine survivors is limited.[33] Prosthetics and rehabilitation services are provided at the Ziguinchor hospital and the Centre d’Appareillage orthopédique (Center of Orthopedic Appliances) in Dakar. Handicap International is the main mine action actor. In addition to data collection, HI supported the decentralization of the orthopedic surgery and physical rehabilitation services of the Ziguinchor hospital. Two departmental centers were created in Bignona and Oussouye, the two chief towns of the region.[34] HI also supports the training of physiotherapists and orthopedic technicians. Until February 2001, HI financed the KAGAMEN victim transit center in Ziguinchor, and provided survivors with prostheses and with financial support for income generating activities. The program has now ceased activities.[35]
In July 1999, mines survivors created the Association Sénégalaise des Victimes de Mines (ASVM) to help empower survivors to achieve sustainable economic reintegration. Since its creation, ASVM has received forty prostheses from Handicap International, and CFA 2,400,000 (about US$3,300) from the national football team. This money is being used for a micro-credit program targeting mine survivors in the Casamance region.[36]
The “Centre de Guidance Infantile et Familiale,” a NGO based in Casamance, provides psychotherapeutic support for war victims, including landmine survivors, through group discussion and sensitization.[37]
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[1] Interview with Col. Abdoulaye Aziz Ndao, Director of Study Control and Legislation, Ministry of Armed Forces, and Papa Diop, Director of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Union and Senegalese Abroad, Geneva, 29 May 2002.
[2] For details on the commission, see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 96.
[3] The commission is composed by members of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
[4] Interview with Col. Abdoulaye Aziz Ndao, Ministry of Armed Forces and Papa Diop, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 29 May 2002.
[5] Previous Article 7 Reports were submitted on 1 September 1999, covering 1 March-30 August 1999, and on 27 March 2001, covering calendar year 2000.
[6] Interview with Col. Abdoulaye Aziz Ndao, Ministry of Armed Forces, Geneva, 29 January 2002.
[7] Article 7 Report, 22 April 2002.
[8] Phone interview with Col. Abdoulaye Aziz Ndao, Ministry of Armed Forces, 3 April 2002. In the past, Landmine Monitor has reported allegations of use of mines by Senegalese Armed Forces in Guinea-Bissau in 1998; see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 99.
[9] Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 98.
[10] Interview with Col. Ousmane Sarr, Director of Military Engineering and Infrastructure, Ministry of Defense, Dakar, 16 May 2002. For details on allegations of use by rebel forces, see Landmine Monitor 2001, pp. 138-139.
[11] Interview with Colonel Ousmane Sarr, Ministry of Defense, Dakar, 12 January 2001.
[12] Interview with Col. Abdoulaye Aziz Ndao, Ministry of Armed Forces, Geneva, 29 May 2002; Article 7 Report, Form I, 22 April 2002.
[13] Bertrand Diamacoune, ‘La paix est irréversible’ en Casamance” (“Peace is irreversible in
Casamance”), Le Soleil (daily newspaper), 8 March 2002.
[14] “Mouvement des Populations et Déminage,” Bamako, Mali, 15 February 2001, p. 5.
[15] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 140.
[16] Article 7 Report, Form C, 22 April 2002. EXPAL is listed as Portuguese, but is a Spanish manufacturer. The TM 46 is a Russian antivehicle mine. The PRB ENCRIER is listed as Russian, but is likely Belgian. The K 35 BG is listed as French, but is likely the Belgian M-35.
[17] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 141.
[18] “Le CIDHG prêt à aider au déminage de la Casamance” (The International Center for Humaniarian Demining of Geneva willing to help clear mines in Casamance), Le Soleil (daily newspaper), 5 October 2001.
[19] Interview with Col. Abdoulaye Aziz Ndao, Ministry of Armed Forces, Geneva, 29 May 2002.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Article 7 Report, Forms C and G, 22 April 2002.
[22] Interview with Col. Abdoulaye Aziz Ndao, Ministry of Armed Forces, Geneva, 29 May 2002.
[23] Interview with Sophie Wyseur-Gaye, Program Coordinator in Caasamance, Handicap International, 15 May 2002.
[24] Email from Cathy Badonnel, MRE Coordination, HI, Lyon, 4 July 2002.
[25] Things that go Bang! (monthly e-bulletin of UNICEF), Issue Four, 13 May 2002.
[26] Data on mine and UXO victims in Casamance from 1988 to January 2002, Handicap International, sent to Landmine Monitor on 8 May 2002.
[27] Revised casualty data for 2000 was provided to Landmine Monitor by Handicap International in an email dated 30 November 2001.
[28] Data on mine and UXO victims in Casamance from 1988 to January 2002, Handicap International, sent to Landmine Monitor on 8 May 2002.
[29] “Les Victimes de Mines en Casamance,” Handicap International, November 2000, p. 21.
[30] Article 7 Report, Form C, 22 April 2002.
[31] Data on mine and UXO victims in Casamance from 1988 to January 2002, Handicap International, sent to Landmine Monitor on 8 May 2002.
[32] “Eight Killed in Landmine Explosion,” The Independent (Gambian newspaper), 15 March 2002.
[33] Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 101.
[34] Email from Sophie Wiseur-Gaye, Program Coordinator in Casamance, Handicap International, 8 May 2002.
[35] Telephone interview with Sophie Wyseur-Gaye, Program Coordinator in Casamance, Handicap International, Ziguinchor, 2 May 2002; email from Sophie Wiseur-Gaye, 8 May 2002; interview with Sophie Wiseur-Gaye, Ziguinchor, 15 May 2002.
[36] Abdoulaye Seye, “ Ziguinchor : des GIE pour les victimes de mines,” Le Soleil (daily newspaper), 10 August 2001.
[37] Interview with Emile Dieme, Coordinator, Centre de Guidance Infantile et Familiale, Ziguinchor, 14 May 2002.
