| <TURKMENISTAN | UNITED KINGDOM> |
Key developments since May 2001: Uganda has denied allegations of use of mines in the DR Congo in 2000, and has reportedly been conducting an investigation, in a spirit of cooperation. Uganda invited foreign military attaches to inspect an alleged mine production facility, and they concluded no production existed. Uganda submitted its initial Article 7 Report in May 2002, which provided the first public details on a stockpile of 6,782 antipersonnel mines. Uganda will retain 2,400 of the mines for training purposes. Mine Risk Education is underway in the northern districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, and in Kasese district in western Uganda. There continue to be new mine casualties.
Uganda signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 25 February 1999. The treaty entered into force for Uganda on 1 August 1999. Uganda reported in May 2002 that the “1997 Mine Ban Treaty Implementation Bill 2002” was before parliament.[1] In July 2002, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Landmine Monitor that the bill was referred to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs for more input.[2]
Uganda participated in the Third Meeting of States Parties in Managua, Nicaragua, in September 2001 where it denied allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by its forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000 and stated that it was going to investigate the allegations. It repeated its denials at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in January and May 2002. (See Use section below for more details).
Uganda’s first Article 7 transparency report, which was due on 28 January 2000, was submitted to the United Nations on 24 May 2002, covering the period 28 January 2000 to 24 May 2002. Uganda cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M supporting the Mine Ban Treaty on 29 November 2001.
Uganda is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but not to its Amended Protocol II on landmines.[3] Uganda did not participate in the third annual meeting of States Parties to Amended Protocol II or the Second CCW Review Conference in December 2001, reportedly because of lack of funds.[4]
Uganda has firmly denied previously reported allegations of ongoing landmine production at its government-owned facility in Nakasongora.[5] At the January 2002 Standing Committee meeting, Uganda said, “In July 2001, the Uganda Government invited all Resident Military Attaches to make an inspection tour of the industrial facility where landmines are alleged to be made. The representatives of the US, UK, South Africa, Libya, and Tanzania were among the foreign military personnel who carried out the inspection and made a signed statement in which they expressed their unanimous conviction that there was no landmine production at Nakasongora.”[6] In its May 2002 Article 7 Report, it reported that the decommissioning of its landmine production facilities was completed.[7]
At the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001, Uganda reported on a “national drive” to collect all existing landmines in Uganda for future destruction. In January 2002, it reported the military was compiling details of its stockpiles in Soroti and Masindi for transportation to Magamaga ordnance depot near Jinja for eventual destruction “in public before the deadline for Uganda as per Article 4 of the Convention.”[8] The deadline for Uganda to complete stockpile destruction is 1 August 2003.
In its Article 7 Report, Uganda for the first time publicly revealed information about its mine stockpile. It reported having a total of 6,782 antipersonnel mines, including the following: 493 PMN; 273 POMZ-2; 4,564 T-72; 240 SRB 6721; 470 TM 200; 54 TM 500; 12 M-35; 286 NR 413; 15 LOT-11-68 (US); 60 OZM 413; 81 PMD7, 232 PM4-A1; 2 “scatterable mines” (type unspecified).[9] It will retain 2,000 T-72 and 400 TM 200 mines for training as permitted by the treaty.[10] The list of stockpiled mines would appear to indicate that Uganda has obtained mines in the past from Belgium, China, former Soviet Union, United States, and former Yugoslavia.
There have been no allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by Ugandan forces, either in Uganda or in the Democratic Republic of Congo, during this reporting period (since May 2001). Both Landmine Monitor Report 2000 and Landmine Monitor Report 2001 cited serious allegations that Ugandan forces had used antipersonnel mines during fighting around Kisangani in the DRC in June 2000. The allegations came from United Nations field officials, humanitarian aid workers, medical professionals caring for mine victims, World Food Program staff, demobilized Ugandan soldiers, RCD rebel officers, and people in local communities. Last year, Landmine Monitor concluded, “While Landmine Monitor has not received any eyewitness accounts or direct admissions by those who actually used the mines, the testimony of a significant number and range of knowledgeable sources, coupled with practical evidence such as the location of the mines around defensive Ugandan positions, indicates a strong possibility of use of antipersonnel mines by Ugandan forces, or their allies.”[11]
The government has repeatedly denied such use. At the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001, Uganda responded to the Landmine Monitor Report by saying that it had “respected and observed all of [its] obligations” under the Mine Ban Treaty. It said Ugandan forces had not used mines in Kisangani in the DRC, but that others who occupied Uganda’s defensive positions after Uganda withdrew could have planted mines. Uganda went on to say that it supported the suggestion of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines that a full investigation should be carried out.[12]
At the Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee meeting in Geneva on 1 February 2002, Uganda informed States Parties of a joint Uganda-Rwanda investigative commission looking into the conduct of the fighting in the DRC, and indicated that the commission would be adding the landmine issue to its mandate. Uganda said it would report back the results to the May Standing Committee meeting. At the same time, Uganda said again it was certain that its forces had not used antipersonnel mines in the DRC. [13] States Parties and the ICBL expressed their appreciation for Uganda’s spirit of cooperation in attempting to resolve the matter.
At the May 2002 Standing Committee meeting, the Ugandan delegation stressed the country’s commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty, but reported that the joint commission had not yet responded on the landmine issue. Uganda again said it did not use mines in the DRC, and stated that the reports of use came after Ugandan forces had withdrawn from Kisangani, noting that Ugandan defensive positions were occupied after the withdrawal, making it likely that the mines were laid by others.[14]
Landmine Monitor did not receive any reports of use of antipersonnel mines by the Lord’s Resistance Army in this reporting period (May 2001-May 2002). It is the first time since Landmine Monitor began collecting data in 1998 that LRA antipersonnel mine use has not been reported. However, in late March 2002, following an agreement allowing Ugandan army units to pursue LRA units within Sudanese territory, the Ugandan Defense Minister claimed that the Ugandan army had overrun four LRA bases inside Sudan and seized weapons including “55 assault rifles, grenades, bombs, land mines and ammunition.”[15] Also, on 25 March 2002, a vehicle on the Gulu–Juba road, about 20 miles from Gulu town, hit an antivehicle mine suspected to have been planted by the LRA, killing the driver and seriously injuring his brother.[16]
As detailed in Landmine Monitor Report 2001, the Mine Advisory Group (MAG) carried out a mine assessment mission in May 2001, finding some mined areas in northern and western Uganda, and noting that the “problem is not acute, but is causing deaths and injuries in these areas.”[17] The assessment has not led to any major changes, but has spurred more funding for NGO mine risk education and support programs, which had stopped due to lack of funding. In its Article 7 Report, Uganda reported that no survey had been carried out to map the exact locations of mines, which can be found in the northern and western parts of the country.[18]
The Uganda People’s Defense Forces is reported to have acquired new mine clearance and detection equipment, including “chubbies or mine breachers for detecting landmines,” a probable reference to the South African “Chubby” mine clearance and detection machine. The military displayed these during the 16th Anniversary of National Resistance Movement celebrations on 26 January 2002.[19]
In 2001, Uganda received CDN$360,000 (US$217,800 or Ug.Shs.360 million) from the government of Canada’s development agency CIDA for an integrated mine risk education and victim support program for mainly northern Uganda. Funds were provided through Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) to CPAR–Uganda, IPPNW-Uganda, and UNACOH for a period of 18 months, starting September 2001.[20] In February 2002, the Canadian government announced a donation of $365,000 for ongoing landmine work in northern Uganda.[21]
Mine risk education (MRE) and victim assistance are the only mine action activities coordinated in Uganda. Central coordination and monitoring is provided by the Ministry of Health (Disability and Rehabilitation Department), which works with relevant NGOs, international agencies, and government departments. All partners decide the planning of activities and priorities collectively, which are then carried out by the implementing NGOs or government departments.
MRE is underway in the northern districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, and in Kasese district, in western Uganda.[22] MRE handbooks were officially launched in Gulu District on 8 June 2001 before of an audience of 120 people, and in Kitgum on 11 June 2001 to an audience of 50. A total of 720 primary school teachers from Gulu, Kitgum and Pader have been trained in mine risk education with funding from the Italian NGO Associazione Volontari per il Servizio Internazionale (International Service Volunteers Association, AVSI) in collaboration with the office of the District Rehabilitation Officer, Gulu.[23]
In Kasese district, western Uganda, the Anti-mines Network Rwenzori (AMNET-R) carried out MRE workshops in February 2002 for 68 community leaders and for 22 primary school teachers.[24] In addition, a number of drama groups in Kasese district have started participating in mine risk education.[25] Two mine sensitizations were carried out in Kasese district for 50 first-level health workers, NGO and District leaders, and Internally Displaced camp and community leaders. Communities have been asking for more training and expansion of the program, including more posters and handbooks.[26]
During the first quarter of 2002, a needs assessment baseline survey was carried out in which people expressed interest in the expansion of the program to involve more people at the grass root level. Refresher mine risk education training sessions were conducted for a total of 40 district trainers in March and April 2002 in Gulu and Kasese. Further MRE refresher training sessions for 20 trainers were carried out for Kitgum and Pader districts. In June 2002, training for mine risk educators at sub-county level was carried out, including 80 from Gulu district, 40 from Kasese district, and 38 from Kitgum and Pader districts.
The total number of landmine casualties in Uganda is not known, as there is no comprehensive data collection system. Some information on landmine/UXO casualties is available as part of general hospital records maintained according to the Health Information Management System (HIMS).[27] Between 1991 and March 2001, 602 mine casualties were reported in Uganda.[28]
In 2001, the International Service Volunteers Association reported twelve new landmine casualties in the Gulu, Kitgum and Adjumani districts.[29] It was not reported if the casualties were killed or injured. Other sources reported that landmines had killed at least seven people and injured three others in the mine-contaminated areas of north and western Uganda in 2001. One man was reported killed in Kasese, western Uganda.[30] In Gulu district, five people were treated as a result of mine incidents at St. Mary’s Lacor Hospital, including four males, aged 20-28 years, and one female aged 22 years. No new casualties were reported by the Gulu regional hospital. In Kitgum, two males were injured, including one adult and one child. The driver of a truck was killed after his vehicle hit an anitvehicle mine suspected to have been planted by LRA on the Gulu–Juba road in Gulu district. His passenger was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital with severe injuries.[31]
Most of those injured were traveling on foot or in fields and were aged between 20 and 40 years.[32] Most of the casualties who reached the hospitals required an amputation except for one victim, a soldier, who was injured in Pajule, Kitgum district and sustained facial injuries and lost his sight. He was treated in St. Joseph Hospital, Kitgum District.[33]
No mine/UXO casualties were reported by any of the hospitals in the first three months of 2002.
The public health system in the mine-affected areas of northern and western Uganda is ill-equipped to handle landmine casualties although basic health facilities are found in hospitals throughout the country. In the mine-affected districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, which have experienced about 15 years of war, most of the health facilities have broken down and some of the existing facilities are under-staffed and lack equipment and supplies. However, in Kasese district in western Uganda, most of the health facilities are operating reasonably well. Casualties often have to travel long distances before reaching health facilities where they can get adequate medical attention. Landmine casualties use whatever transport is available to reach the nearest health facility as there is no specific emergency transport.
The health care system and other facilities available in the country include the provision of psychological and social support services, and physical rehabilitation including prosthetic facilities for landmines survivors.[34]
The ICRC provided medical and surgical supplies to 13 hospitals in the conflict areas, and four referral hospitals in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts. Sufficient surgical supplies for 100 patients were also made available to support the six main hospitals in the Kasese region. In 2001, the hospitals treated 189 war-wounded patients, of which 22 were mine/UXO victims.[35]
Since December 2001, in Kasese district, the training of first level health care providers in Emergency First Aid has been funded by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR). IPPNW provided US$3,000 (Ug.Shs5.1 Million) and CIDA provided CDN$1,230 (US$700 or Ug.Shs1.23 million) as part of the CPAR program.
The Italian NGO, AVSI, continues to provide medical rehabilitation for war victims in 13 districts of northern Uganda.[36] In 2001, the program of medical rehabilitation, prosthetics, physiotherapy, psycho-social assistance and community reintegration assisted 180 patients, including 56 landmine survivors. AVSI cooperates with the Ministry of Health and local authorities with funding support from the European Union, the Italian and Australian governments, and private donors.[37]
The Gulu Regional orthopedic workshop reported that between 1999 and 2001, 286 landmine survivors were treated at the center; war-related injuries constituted 80 percent of all the injuries treated.[38] The ICRC has supported the Ministry of Health prosthetic/orthotic centers in western and northern Uganda, providing training to local staff and materials and equipment. In 2001, physical rehabilitation services were provided for patients, who received 235 prostheses, of which 31 percent were for mine survivors. The assistance program concluded at the end of 2001, however, sufficient raw materials were left to continue the fitting of patients for at least another year.[39]
In Kasese district, the Kitende Hostels Project has assisted landmine survivors since 1998. Up to 2001, 50 survivors had been taken to Buluba Hospital in Mayuge district Eastern Uganda for the fitting of artificial limbs. Since 2001, survivors have been taken to the nearby Fort Portal Regional Workshop, about 60 kilometers from Kasese district, for the fitting of prostheses. By June 2002, 74 people had benefited from the program, which covers all the expenses of transport, food, fitting and hospital charges.[40]
In Kitgum district, the local council has allocated funding to a local NGO, GUU Foundation, to provide orthopedic devices, wheelchairs, and crutches, for landmine survivors.[41]
In September 2001, CPAR started an 18-month integrated mine awareness and survivor assistance program in northern Uganda. The Integrated Landmine Awareness and Victim Support Program includes capacity building, capital for income generation activities, vocational skills training, and farming tools and equipment, in Gulu district.
Other government ministries, NGOs, and international agencies that assist persons with disabilities, including landmine survivors, include the Ministries of Labor and Social Development, the Prime Minister’s Office (Department of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees), Internal Affairs and Defense, WHO, UNICEF, Save the Children Denmark, Save the Children U.K, World Vision, NORAD, World Rehabilitation Fund, UNACOH, ICC-Uganda, URCS, St. John’s Ambulance, AMNET-R, and GUSCO.
Uganda has comprehensive legislation on disability issues.[42] In addition to previously reported legislation, the Local Government Amendment Act 2001 provides for the appointment of a secretary for disability affairs on the Executive Committee at the district and sub county levels. It also provides for representation of disabled persons on boards such as the Tender Board and the District Service Committee. The Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001 also has provisions for the admission of disabled persons. At the policy level there is a national action plan on disability,[43] which was further elaborated in a policy paper by the Ministry of Labor, Gender and Social Development. During the Presidential elections of 2001, the president made pledges on special needs education and on the National Disability Council; these became policy papers after his re-election.[44]
| <TURKMENISTAN | UNITED KINGDOM> |
[1] Article 7 Report, Form A, 24 May 2002, covering the period 28 January 2000-24 May 2002.
[2] Interview with Dorah Kuteesa, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 July 2002.
[3] Interview with Eunice Kigenyi, Foreign Service Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 January 2002.
[4] Interview with Dorah Kutesa, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Affairs, 21 January 2002.
[5] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 161-162.
[6] Statement by Captain Kagoro A. Asingura of the Uganda Delegation, to the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 1 February 2002.
[7] Article 7 Report, Form E, 24 May 2002.
[8] Interview with the Uganda delegation to the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, 31 January 2002.
[9] Article 7 Report, Form B, 24 May 2002. The SRB 6721 is also known as the Yugoslav PMA-3. It is unusual that Uganda would hold two scatterable mines.
[10] Article 7 Report, Form D, 24 May 2002.
[11] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 165.
[12] Statement by Uganda Head of Delegation, Lt. Col. Ramandhan Kyamulesire, Ministry of Defense, to the Third Meeting of States Parties, Managua, Nicaragua, 19 September 2001. Notes taken by Landmine Monitor/HRW.
[13] Statement by Captain Kagoro A. Asingura of the Uganda Delegation, to the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 1 February 2002.
[14] Statement by Captain Kagoro of the Uganda Delegation to the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation, Geneva, 31 May 2002.
[15] “Ugandan army finds large rebel arms cache in Southern Sudan,” Agence France Presse (Kampala), 17 April 2002; Report by Osike Felix, New Vision, 30 March 2002, p. 1, referred to antipersonnel mines.
[16] Dennis Ojwele, “LRA kills one in Gulu district,” New Vision, 29 March 2002, p. 9; Oketch Bitek, “One killed as Gulu truck hits landmine,” Monitor (newspaper), 26 March 2002, p. 1.
[17] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 166-167; Mines Advisory Group, “Uganda: Assessment Report,” June 2001.
[18] Article 7 Report, Form C, 24 May 2002.
[19] Jabweli Okecho reporting in Sunday Vision, 27 January 2002, p. 3; Sunday Vision, 3 February 2002, p. 5.
[20] Information provided by IPPNW-Uganda.
[21] “Canada to Maintain Landmine Project,” New Vision, 28 February 2002.
[22] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 167-168; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 118; Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 94.
[23] Interview with and report by Bernard Ocen, District Rehabilitation Officer, 7 Gulu district, Gulu Town, March 2002.
[24] Interview with Wilson Bwambale (AMNET-R), Kasese, 15 March 2002.
[25] Wilson Bwambale, “Anti-mine Network Rwenzori (AMNET-R) Report,” 26 February 2002.
[26] Interviews with District, Community and Camp leaders, Gulu, January –February 2002.
[27] Interview with Dr. Olut Charles, Medical Superintendent, Kitgum Hospital and Dr. Theresia Pellio, Medical Superintendent, St. Joseph Hospital, 24 January 2002; interview with Dr. Martin Ogwang, Lacor Hospital and Dr. Kaducu, Gulu Hospital, 25 January 2002.
[28] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 168.
[29] Davide Naggi, Coordinator, AVSI, response to Landmine Monitor Survivor Assistance Questionnaire, 7 March 2002.
[30] Hospital records for Bwera, Kagando and Kilembe hospitals, Kasese; and interviews with District leaders and health workers, Kasese, 20-22 December 2001.
[31] Oketch Bitek, “One killed as Gulu truck hits landmine,” Monitor Newspaper, 26 March 2002, p. 1; and Dennis Ojwele, “LRA landmine kills one in Gulu District,” New Vision Newspaper, 29 March 2002, p. 9.
[32] Gulu orthopedic workshop records.
[33] Hospital records for 2001, Kitgum and St. Joseph hospitals; and interview with Dr. Olut Charles, Medical Superintendent, Kitgum Hospital and Dr. Theresia Pellio, Medical Superintendent, St. Joseph Hospital, 24 January 2002.
[34] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 169.
[35] ICRC Special Report, Mine Action 2001, ICRC, Geneva, July 2002, p. 22.
[36] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 169.
[37] Davide Naggi, Coordinator, AVSI, response to Landmine Monitor Survivor Assistance Questionnaire, 7 March 2002. AVSI reported to have spent 100 million Uganda Shillings (approximately US $58,800) to train teachers in mine awareness education and physical rehabilitation of landmine victims in northern Uganda (the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader) between June 2000 and December 2001. Interview with Amodoi Raphael, Orthopedic Technologist with AVSI, Gulu, 25 January 2002.
[38] Gulu Orthopedic workshop records, 2002.
[39] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programmes, Annual Report 2001, at http://www.icrc.org.
[40] Interview with Aaron Mukababebwa Muhindo, Coordinator, Kitende Hostels Project Landmine Victim Program, Kasese town, 15 June 2002.
[41] Interview with District Community Development Officer, Kitgum, 23 January 2002.
[42] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 170.
[43] Ibid.
[44] Interview with Benon Ndeziboneye, Senior Program Officer Action on Disability and Development, 1 February 2002.
