Key developments since May 2005: A project for survey and marking of mined areas and for mine risk education was started by Danish Demining Group in partnership with Border Guards and local NGOs.
The Kyrgyz Republic has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Officials have said that while Kyrgyzstan supports the goal of a mine-free world, it does not yet have necessary alternatives for border defense, and it lacks financial and technical resources to implement the treaty.[1]
Positive indications of Kyrgyzstan’s interest in joining the treaty, as noted in Landmine Monitor Report 2005, appear to have been tempered. All officials involved with the landmine issue were replaced following the political transition in Kyrgyzstan between March and August 2005. New representatives of the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs now responsible for the landmine issue told Landmine Monitor several times that “the issue needs to be carefully studied.”[2]
On 8 December 2005, Kyrgyzstan was one of 17 countries to abstain in voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 60/80, calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty; it abstained on similar UNGA resolutions in recent years.[3]
Kyrgyzstan was invited by the Mine Ban Treaty’s sponsorship program to attend the May 2006 intersessional Standing Committee meetings. During the meetings, Kyrgyzstan made a statement in which it welcomed the decreasing use of antipersonnel mines around the world and expressed its interest in a process aimed at restricting the use of antipersonnel mines. Kyrgyzstan said it was impossible for it to join the treaty at this time, from a political, military and financial standpoint. It said antipersonnel mines were a cheap means of border protection, noting 80 percent of its border is mountainous and unreachable. It spoke of a step-by-step approach, beginning with mine clearance, then stockpile destruction, and noted that such an approach could prepare the basis for Kyrgyzstan to take a full part in the Mine Ban Treaty.[4]
A representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated in the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Zagreb, Croatia in November-December 2005, but did not make any statements. Kyrgyzstan also attended the intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2005, but did not speak. In a meeting with the ICBL, Ambassador Muktar Jumaliev stated that lack of resources for mine clearance was the main concern for Kyrgyzstan.[5]
In October 2005, the government of Canada undertook a mission to Kyrgyzstan aimed at encouraging accession to the Mine Ban Treaty. The delegation was headed by retired General Maurice Baril, the former head of Canadian Armed Forces and now an advisor on mine action.
In March 2006, the Kyrgyz Committee of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War sent letters to the Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs urging accession to the Mine Ban Treaty, noting it would increase the international standing of the new government.[6]
Kyrgyzstan is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons or its Amended Protocol II on landmines.
Kyrgyzstan states that it has not produced or exported antipersonnel mines, but inherited a stockpile of mines from the Soviet Union.[7] In May 2005, a knowledgeable military source indicated that the Ministry of Defense stockpiles several tens of thousands of PMN and OZM-72 antipersonnel mines, and Border Guards stockpile some 1,000 to 2,000 antipersonnel mines. He indicated the shelf life for most if not all of these mines has expired, and said that consideration was being given to a destruction program.[8]
Kyrgyzstan has acknowledged that it used antipersonnel mines in 1999 and 2000 to prevent infiltration across its borders, but maintains that these areas have since been demined.[9] According to the Ministry of Defense, Kyrgyz troops have not used landmines on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border since that time.[10]
Kyrgyzstan’s landmine contamination is concentrated in the southern Batken province bordering Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It has resulted in casualties and loss of livestock as well as denying herdsmen access to grazing lands. Landmines are reported to have killed more than 10 people and injured many more since 1999, as well as causing losses of livestock, denying farmers access to pasture and deterring cross-border trade.[11]
Uzbekistan laid antipersonnel mines on its disputed border with Kyrgyzstan in 1999 and 2000 to prevent incursions by the militant Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.[12] Kyrgyz authorities estimated that Uzbek forces mined about 42 kilometers of their 1,300-kilometer border. Uzbekistan also laid mines around the Uzbek enclaves of Sokh and Shakhimardan inside Kyrgyzstan. The Parliamentary Security Committee has estimated that the minefields are about 250 meters wide and contain about 2,000 to 3,000 landmines per square kilometer.[13] However, Kyrgyzstan says Uzbekistan has never provided any maps or documents detailing the locations of the minefields, which therefore remain uncertain.[14]
The head of Kyrgyzstan’s Border Service was quoted in 2003 as saying it also used landmines in mountain passes to stop cross-border movements by “bandits.”[15] In addition, when Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union, Soviet forces used the area as a weapons testing ground, raising the possibility of some residual contamination from unexploded ordnance (UXO).[16]
A decree issued on 7 June 2001 forms the legal basis for mine clearance in Kyrgyzstan.[17] Clearance is carried out by Kyrgyz army engineers, who started demining on the border with Uzbekistan in 2001. The Ministry of Defense claimed in February 2002 that deminers had cleared 320,000 square meters of land.[18] Reliable information on the location or extent of demining operations is not available.[19]
Uzbekistan announced in August 2004 that it would start demining its borders with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; it deployed military engineering units to start clearance operations.[20] Press reports suggested Uzbek troops completely cleared landmines around Kyrgyzstan’s Uzbek enclave of Shakhimardan in 2004[21] and partially cleared territory around Sokh enclave in 2004-2005.[22] The Vice Chairman of Uzbekistan’s Border Guards, Colonel Rashid Khabiev, reported that Uzbek troops had cleared minefields in the area of Uzun (Surkhandaryin region), Cokh and Shakhimardan (Fergana region), including mountains around Shakhimardan. He was reported as claiming that demining was 70 percent complete around Sokh enclave and 95 percent complete in the Babatag mountains (Surkhandaryin region).[23]
Kyrgyzstan planned that marking and fencing of mined areas would be executed by a local NGO equipped, trained and supervised by a Danish Demining Group (DDG) technical advisor. However, the political situation in the border areas deteriorated preventing the safe working of a civilian NGO in the border area. Therefore, it was decided to equip and train the Border Service to survey and mark remaining minefields, by means of a project funded by the European Commission (€300,000, or US$373,470).[24] In 2006, DDG started preparing a Border Service unit of approximately 12 men to conduct a general survey of suspect areas in Batken province in order to determine the extent of the mine threat, mark remaining minefields and, if possible, verify any clearance that has taken place.[25] DDG’s training and support included the use and maintenance of equipment, procedures for survey and marking of minefields according to international standards, the development of standard operating procedures (based on DDG procedures), operational safety regulations and the recognition of mines and ammunition. DDG expected to complete the survey by October 2006.[26]
The Red Crescent Society in Batken district continued mine risk education (MRE) in 2005-2006. Following the death of two boys in May 2005 as a result of UXO at a former military training ground in Kadamjay, Batken district. MRE activities were expanded to cover this region. MRE training in schools, marking of dangerous areas by billboards, and the distribution of printed materials, received national funding in 2006 of US$ 7,000.[27]
The EC-funded project included an MRE component, implemented by DDG in partnership with the Regional Development Center, a local NGO based in Bishkek. The aim was to reduce the number of casualties and the amount of unusable land in Batken province due to the existence of landmines, by educating the affected population to understand and manage the risk related to living in a mined area, as well as by identifying mined and non-mined locations.[28]
Local NGOs, community leaders, civil society actors and teachers were targeted for training-of-trainers workshops conducted by DDG’s international MRE officer based in Batken. The first workshop was conducted over five days in January 2006 with local NGOs. From February to April 2006 five additional trainings were conducted for 39 staff members of 26 NGOs (18 women, 21 men), 22 teachers (18 women, 4 men) and 13 community/village leaders (5 women, 8 men).
Two mobile teams of four people were formed to conduct MRE sessions at village level; 3,992 people (2,047 are men, 916 women and 1029 children) in five affected villages received MRE sessions from February to April 2006. In addition to oral information, all participants received leaflets and pocket calendars with MRE messages. Posters with warning messages were put in public places.[29]
Discussions with people in affected villages revealed that, besides mines, UXO was also thought to be a serious threat, and that children, mostly boys, were attracted to play with UXO. Therefore, it was decided to develop two posters, one depicting behavior that should be avoided (a boy playing with UXO), and another poster depicting potentially dangerous areas where UXO may be found (abandoned military areas). It was expected that all MRE materials would have to be produced in Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Russian, but the assessment showed that most of the target audience speaks Kyrgyz, so the material produced is in Kyrgyz language only.[30]
In 2005, no new mine casualties were reported. However, in May, two boys aged 17 and 14 years were killed as a result of a UXO explosion on a military training ground in Batken province.[31] In 2004, there were no reports of new mine/UXO casualties.[32] No new casualties were reported from January to April 2006.
The total number of mine/UXO casualties in Kyrgyzstan is not known. According to the National Red Crescent Society, 12 landmine/UXO casualties have occurred in Batken since 1999; seven people were killed. However, according to several media reports, at least 11 Kyrgyz citizens have been killed and several injured in mine explosions since 1999. Mine explosions also killed around 100 head of livestock.[33]
The public health system is free of charge in Kyrgyzstan. Landmine and UXO casualties receive the same medical assistance as other citizens. Mine/UXO survivors requiring prosthetic or orthotic services must travel to the Dushanbe Orthopedic Center in Tajikistan, as there are no facilities in Kyrgyzstan. Psychological and socioeconomic support is often not available due to economic problems in the country.
All civilians with a disability are protected under common law.[34] In practice, there is discrimination in employment, education, access to healthcare and in the provision of other state services for persons with disabilities. People with disabilities often have difficulty finding employment because of negative societal attitudes and high unemployment among the general population.[35]
[1] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1029.
[2] Interview with Bolot Kulmatov, International Security Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bishkek, 9 March 2006.
[3] Kyrgyzstan voted in support of pro-mine ban UNGA resolutions from 1996 to 1998.
[4] Statement by Kyrgyzstan, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 8 May 2006 (notes by Human Rights Watch on verbal English interpretation). The written statement in Russian is available at www.gichd.ch
[5] Email from Amb. Satnam Jit Singh, ICBL Diplomatic Advisor, 28 June 2005.
[6] Interview with Nurlan Brimkulov, Executive Director, IPPNW Kyrgyz Committee, Bishkek, 10 March 2006.
[7] Statement by Kyrgyzstan, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 8 May 2006; statement by Talantbek Kushchubekov, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, First Review Conference, Nairobi, 3 December 2004.
[8] Interview with confidential military source, Bishkek, May 2005.
[9] Statement by Kyrgyzstan, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[10] Interview with Col. Daniyar Izbasarov, Director, Engineering Department, Ministry of Defense, Bishkek, 23 March 2006.
[11] “Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan: Landmine threat along Uzbek border removed,” IRIN, 31 October 2005, www.irinnews.org accessed 13 May 2006.
[12] See for example Yuri Yegorov, “Uzbekistan agrees to remove minefields along its border with Kyrgyzstan,” Eurasia Daily Monitor, Vol. 1, Issue 41, 29 June 2004.
[13] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 784.
[14] Yuri Yegorov, “Uzbekistan agrees to remove minefields along its border with Kyrgyzstan,” Eurasia Daily Monitor, Vol. 1, Issue 41, 29 June 2004.
[15] “Kyrgyzstan to continue using landmines – Kyrgyz border chief,” Kyrgyzstan Daily Digest, 13 November 2003.
[16] Email from Kari Valjakka, Project Manager, Danish Demining Group (DDG), 24 March 2006.
[17] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 784.
[18] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1031.
[19] Email from Kari Valjakka, DDG, Kyrgyzstan, 18 May 2006.
[20] Sedep Isakova, “Demining process is Security process,” www.fergana.ru, accessed 25 August 2004.
[21] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 784.
[22] “Borders are becoming clear,” www.uzbekistan.wordpress.com, accessed 24 November 2005.
[23] Ibid.
[24] EC, “Contribution to the Landmine Monitor 2005,” email from Nicola Marcel, RELEX Unit 3a Security Policy, European Commission, 19 July 2005. Average exchange rate for 2005: €1 = $1.2449. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[25] Email from Kari Valjakka, DDG, Kyrgyzstan, 24 March 2006; email from Elina Dibirova, Coordinator of Mine Risk Education and Minefield Marking in Batken Oblast project, DDG, 20 March, 2006
[26] Email from Kari Valjakka, DDG, 24 March 2006.
[27] Telephone interview with Kyal Sabitov, MRE Program Coordinator, Red Crescent Society, Batken, 15 May 2006; Makhamadjan Urumbaev, “Two Teenagers Killed by Explosion,” Vecherny Bishkek, 12 May 2005.
[28] Email from Elina Dibirova, DDG, 28 April 2006.
[29] Email from Elina Dibirova, DDG, 20 March 2006.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Interview with Kyal Sabitov, Red Crescent Society, Batken, 1 September 2005; Makhamadjan Urumbaev, “Two Teenagers Killed by Explosion,” Vecherny Bishkek, 12 May 2005.
[32] “Landmine threat along Uzbek border removed,” IRIN, 31 October 2005; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 785-786.
[33] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 785; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1032.
[34] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1032-1033.
[35] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2005: Kyrgyz Republic,” Washington DC, 8 March 2006.