Algeria

Mine Ban Policy

The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, ratified on 9 October 2001 and became a State Party on 1 April 2002. Algeria considers existing laws, including its penal law, as sufficient legal measures to implement the Mine Ban Treaty.^[1] In April 2007 Algeria submitted its fifth annual Article 7 transparency report.^[2]

Algeria attended the Seventh Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2006 where it made a statement during the General Exchange of Views. At the meeting Algeria took over as co-chair of the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, having served as co-rapporteur since December 2005. Algeria participated in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2006 and April 2007; at the April 2007 meeting it made a presentation on its efforts to meet its 2012 mine clearance deadline.

Algeria has not engaged in the extensive discussions that States Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1 and 2. Thus, it has not made known its views on the issues of joint military operations with states not party to the treaty, foreign stockpiling and transit of antipersonnel mines, and antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices.

In August 2006 responsibility for the Interministerial Committee on the Implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, established in 2003, was transferred from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Minister of Defense.^[3]

Algeria is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Production, Transfer, Use and Stockpiling

Algeria is not known to have ever produced or exported antipersonnel mines. It imported antipersonnel mines from China, the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia.^[4] The government again acknowledged that it had used mines against terrorists during the 1990s.^[5] On 21 November 2005 Algeria completed the destruction of its stockpile of 150,050 antipersonnel mines, four months in advance of its treaty-mandated deadline.^[6]

Algeria has, from time to time, reported that insurgents or “terrorist groups” have planted antipersonnel mines or improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to attack government troops.^[7] In 2006 there were two media reports of Algerian forces suffering injuries from explosive attacks that may have involved antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, IEDs, booby-traps, or some combination; the reports were too vague to identify the type of weapon conclusively. In August 2006, 31 Algerian soldiers were injured and one was killed by what were described as landmines and booby-traps encountered while attacking a Salafist camp in the Boumhana Forest in Draa Elmizane.^[8] In October 2006, 11 soldiers were killed in an explosive attack at Ain El Rafla, and another 15 were injured and three died while in pursuit of insurgents.^[9]

In June 2007 Algerian Army intelligence agencies reportedly seized 2,500 antipersonnel mines from a house in the city of Maghnia, Tlemcen province in western Algeria. The mines were alleged to have been brought in by networks of smugglers from the Moroccan border, and were destined for “the terrorist groups in the mountains of Tizi Ouzou” in central Algeria. Several people were arrested in what was deemed “the biggest attempt to smuggle explosives to the fiefs of the terrorist groups.”^[10]

In July 2007 regional police reportedly confiscated 389 antipersonnel mines and arrested eight people in Tlemcen. The group allegedly was digging up the mines and removing the explosive in order to sell it for illegal purposes.^[11] In March 2007 Algerian authorities reportedly seized 108 antipersonnel mines and other explosive materials from a group of traffickers working between Beni-rar in Morocco and Maghnia in Algeria.^[12]

Mines Retained for Training

Upon completion of stockpile destruction in November 2005, Algeria reported that it was keeping 15,030 antipersonnel mines for training purposes. This is the second highest number of all States Parties. As of April 2007 the number of retained mines had not changed, indicating no mines have been consumed (destroyed) during training activities.^[13] A Ministry of Defense official told Landmine Monitor in January 2007 that there are ongoing discussions about decreasing the number of retained mines.^[14]

Algerian officials have said that the retained mines are being used by both military and police forces, and that they prefer to train deminers with live mines.^[15] Algeria has not reported in any detail on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines—a step agreed by States Parties at the First Review Conference in 2004. Algeria did not use the new, expanded Form D for reporting on retained mines agreed by States Parties at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in 2005.

Landmine and ERW Problem

Algeria is contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), mainly unexploded ordnance (UXO), from World War II, the conflict to end French colonial occupation and the insurgency of the 1990s. In 2003 the government estimated that 3,064,180 mines contaminated 56.76 square kilometers along 1,049 kilometers of the Morice and Challe lines, in the eastern border area with Tunisia and the western border area with Morocco. This estimate has not been updated; a landmine impact survey is planned. The north of the country is contaminated by an unknown number of homemade mines and explosive items laid by insurgent groups and 15,709 antipersonnel mines laid by the Algerian army around installations. Algeria has also stated that some “locations that still need clearance in the center of the country continue to be targeted by the insurgent groups.”^[16] As of April 2007, 4,711 mines remained to be cleared from the total laid by the army in the north.^[17]

Mine/UXO-affected areas and suspected areas in Algeria may be inadequately fenced and marked. Algeria reported that marking and fencing was removed by local people and that fencing of border areas along the Challe and Morice lines did not accord with international standards. Other contaminated areas, in particular those resulting from World War II or which have been mined by terrorist groups, are not marked or fenced.^[18]

Mine Action Program

With the exception of the May 2003 presidential decree setting up the Interministerial Committee on the Implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, there has been no mine action legislation in Algeria. In 2006 the army was said to be conducting demining operations according to “common international standards,” which have been adapted to Algeria’s soil conditions.^[19]

It was planned to install the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) in Algeria before the end of 2007.^[20]

Strategic Mine Action Planning

In November 2006 the Algerian government and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) signed a project document to support Algeria’s mine action program within the framework of the Mine Ban Treaty. The project covers a two-year period and includes the implementation of a survey, the development of a national strategy and annual plans, and the installation of an information system as well as mine risk education and victim assistance activities. The Interministerial Committee will be responsible for implementing the project; a steering committee has been established to oversee the project, chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[21] A workplan has been developed, for approval by the steering committee; the first objective was to conduct an impact survey.^[22] In May 2007 the project recruited a full-time coordinator and a part-time technical advisor.^[23]

The UNDP/Algeria project will include mine risk education (MRE), with a campaign along the Challe and Morice lines focusing on children and nomadic people. It was planned to develop an MRE strategy and materials during 2007 with Handicap International in cooperation with relevant ministries and UNDP; MRE activities were scheduled to start in August 2007.^[24]

Demining

All demining in Algeria is carried out by the military, using manual clearance methods.^[25] However, conduct of the proposed landmine impact survey was due to be put out to tender in July 2006; the survey was due to be completed by the end of 2007.^[26]

Mine/ERW Clearance

Algeria has reported that the pace of demining is subject to factors such as climatic conditions, the nature of the soil, thick vegetation in the north, soil erosion and movement of sand by the wind, and shortage of funds and lack of personal protective equipment and demining tools.^[27]

As of April 2007, 4,711 mines remained to be cleared from the total laid by the army during the 1990s. It was expected that clearance operations would be completed by end-June.^[28]

Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Algeria is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but no later than 1 April 2012. From 27 November 2004 to 31 March 2007, the army destroyed 218,611 antipersonnel mines out of the total of 3,064,180 mines on its eastern and western borders.^[29] No formal statements on the likelihood of meeting the deadline had been made as of mid-2007.

Landmine/ERW Casualties^[30]

The interministerial committee did not provide updated information on mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in 2006-2007. The most recent information dates from May 2006, when Algeria stated that “in the months February, March and April 2006 alone,” nine casualties had been recorded in the eastern and western border areas.^[31]

From national Arabic and French-language media, Landmine Monitor identified 58 casualties caused by mines, ERW and victim-activated IEDs (12 killed and 46 injured), including the nine casualties mentioned by the government. At least 43 casualties were caused by victim-activated IEDs, five by antipersonnel mines, four by unspecified mines and six by unspecified ERW. At least 54 casualties were male. Most of the casualties (35) were military or police, but 19 were civilians, including two teenage shepherds; the status of four is unknown. All the antipersonnel mine casualties occurred while herding. All the mine incidents occurred near the Challe and Morice lines; most of the IED incidents occurred in Boumerdes. At least one of the casualties was a Russian national.

The 2006 casualty figure is a slight increase from 2005 (51 casualties). In 2006 a small decrease in victim-activated IEDs was noted: 43 compared to 46 in 2005. However, there were more mine casualties: nine compared to four in 2005. The 2006 casualty rate is the highest since 1999 and considerably higher than 2004 when only nine casualties were recorded.^[32] As most casualties are recorded through media reports, this likely does not represent the full scope of the problem.

Also in 2006, at least three people were killed and 30 injured by remote-detonated IEDs; this is similar to 2005 (25 casualties).

Casualties continued to be reported in 2007 with at least 25 new mine/ERW/victim-activated IED casualties as of 12 July (10 killed and 15 injured). At least eight casualties were caused by antipersonnel mines, 11 were caused by victim-activated IEDs and six by unspecified mines and ERW. The majority of casualties were civilian (20, or 80 percent) while five were military or police.

In the first half of 2007 remote-detonated IED casualties increased rapidly (148 by 12 July) due to growing tension in Algeria; while police and military were targeted, the majority of recorded casualties were civilians (90).

Data Collection

There is no unified or comprehensive mechanism to collect information on landmine casualties in Algeria.  Several ministries and local authorities collect mine/ERW casualty data for compensation, pension or other purposes; however this information is not publicly available. The Ministry of Mujahideen collects information on the “victims of colonialism,” including recent and old mine/ERW casualties, as well as military mine casualties. The Ministry of the Interior and Local Collectives collects information on “casualties of terrorism” including mine/ERW/IED casualties. At the local level the Directorates for Social Action (direction de l’action sociale) in cooperation with local police are informed of new mine/ERW casualties for pension/compensation purposes; this information is sent to the Ministry of Labor and National Solidarity. It was said that the interministerial committee has access to all government sources of casualty data, but that it is unlikely that the devices causing casualties were recorded accurately.^[33]

Several organizations of survivors and people with disabilities also record casualty information in their areas of operation; this information often was not included in the databases of the relevant authorities, impeding access to pensions and other services.^[34] Handicap International maintains a casualty database monitoring the major Algerian newspapers.

At a January 2007 workshop, improved and unified data collection that can be used for planning purposes was selected as one of the priorities for Algeria in 2007. Participants noted that the lack of a unified database impeded planning of survivor assistance; field-based organizations also expressed their willingness and capacity to record data for a central casualty surveillance mechanism. Workshop recommendations included: installing a nationwide database at the Ministry of Labor and National Solidarity with local storage points at the Directorates for Social Action; creating a data collection strategy and standardized forms; unifying, updating and verifying the information collected by ministries; and, disseminating casualty data regularly to implementers.^[35] A first training session was held in late June 2007.

The total number of mine casualties in Algeria is not known. It was expected that the planned impact survey would cover casualty data collection.^[36] The UNDP/Algeria project included establishing a casualty data mechanism at the Ministry of Labor and National Solidarity by the first half of 2008.^[37] The ministry has records for 1,988 antipersonnel mine casualties, including 725 in Tébessa province, 511 in Souk Ahras, 52 in Béchar and 115 in Naâma.^[38] In January 2007 it announced it had collected information on 4,000 people killed and 13,000 injured by mines, ERW and IEDs.^[39]

Survivor Assistance

Civilians have free access to government hospitals and medical centers, which appear to be adequate to meet the needs of mine/ERW survivors, although specialized care is more limited in rural areas. Physical rehabilitation services are only available free of charge for people registered in the national security system.^[40] Many mine survivors are not part of the security system. The national provider of prosthetic and orthotic devices decided to extend the replacement period of mobility devices from three to five years, although many people with physical disabilities need replacements more frequently and have to pay for these replacements.^[41] In 2006 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) held discussions with relevant partners to improve access to services for those who cannot afford the cost. The Ministry of Health showed “a willingness to take measures to achieve this aim, nothing tangible materialized.”^[42] There is a general need for expert staff training and modernization of rehabilitation facilities and emergency transport.^[43] Physical and economic access to all kinds of services can be problematic for survivors.^[44]

Social and economic reintegration is said to be part of the government’s general social action program for all people with disabilities.^[45] People with disabilities can obtain vocational training through the sub-department for “special categories of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.”^[46] However, disabled people’s and survivors’ organizations stated that psychosocial support mechanisms are lacking and that socioeconomic reintegration opportunities are limited. Access to employment is further limited by discrimination and high general unemployment. There is little information about the available services and opportunities.^[47]

While there are numerous disabled people’s and survivors’ organizations, they work mostly at the local level in isolation from other organizations and government bodies. Most services provided are based on a charitable approach, providing mostly financial and material support but few capacity-building opportunities. Most organizations have infrastructure and capacity problems, and lack long-term strategic plans; support is limited to referral and ad hoc assistance.^[48] In 2007 initiatives were being undertaken to amend this situation.

On 18 and 19 January 2007 the Ministry of Employment and National Solidarity, in collaboration with the Handicap International Algeria, hosted a victim assistance training workshop in the capital, Algiers. Local government officials, diplomatic missions, UN representatives, and international and local NGOs participated.^[49] The Minister of Employment and National Solidarity proclaimed 2007 as a year of training and awareness for mine action organizations in Algeria.^[50] The workshop identified as priorities: fully integrate economic reintegration in survivor assistance; provide information and training on “disability and labor” issues; increase cooperation between stakeholders and share best practices; training on project management and technical aspects of economic reintegration; and, focus on the economic integration of young people with disabilities.^[51]

There are two funds providing pensions for landmine survivors and other people with disabilities: one, under the Ministry of Mujahideen, for victims of colonialism, and another, under the Ministry of Interior and Local Collectives, for victims of terrorism. The budget for people with disabilities is one third of the total budget of Ministry of Labor and National Solidarity.^[52] Some of this budget was provided to disability organizations, but they stated ministry contributions were only two percent of their budgets.^[53]

Algeria has legislation to protect the rights of people with disabilities, providing free services and stipulating an employment quota. However “widespread societal discrimination” was “generally ignored.”^[54] Fines for not respecting the employment quota had not been set as of mid-2007.^[55] The National Council for Disabled Persons has reportedly not met since it was created in 1983.^[56] On 30 March 2007 Algeria signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol allowing for the monitoring of disability activities.

Survivor Assistance Strategic Framework

In January 2007 Algeria acknowledged, “now that stockpile destruction was completed it was time to focus on survivor assistance issues,” as this component of mine action had been insufficiently addressed by the government.^[57] The interministerial committee is responsible for all components of mine action, including survivor assistance. However, it does not have an operational budget or capacity to implement activities; its role is limited to monitoring. Although Algeria stated in May 2006 that “intersectorial coordination is ensured in all phases of the [survivor assistance] process,”^[58] communication between local organizations and the government appears to be weak. The Directorates for Social Action expressed a need for more assistance from the Ministry of Labor and National Solidarity.^[59] The president of the interministerial committee indicated these concerns would be addressed in 2007.^[60] At the closing session of the January 2007 survivor assistance workshop, the Minister of Labor and National Solidarity stated that his ministry will allocate funds for survivor assistance organizations to create socioeconomic reintegration projects.^[61]

The UNDP/Algeria mine action project includes the development of a national strategy and annual plans, including survivor assistance and socioeconomic reintegration. The project document states that the ministries of interior, mujahideen, and labor and national solidarity are responsible for compensation for survivors, with the latter ministry in charge of socioeconomic reintegration. NGOs are also encouraged to implement survivor assistance activities. ^[62]

It has not been reported how many people with disabilities and mine/ERW/IED survivors received assistance in 2006.

At the end of 2006 Handicap International started capacity-building in the mine-affected areas in the east (Tébessa, El Tarf, Souk Ahras) and west (Béchar, Naâma) as well as areas affected by terrorism in the center of the country (Relizane, Jijel). The project aims to improve the quality of life of survivors and people with disabilities in general, increase awareness on disability and mine-related issues, and implement the survivor assistance component of the Mine Ban Treaty. The process is highly participatory through continuous training and monitoring as well as specialized training workshops.^[63]

Handicap International continued its support to the training of physiotherapists, paramedical institutes and social workers.^[64]

In 2006-2007 the Algerian Red Crescent Society, ICRC, Federation of Organizations of the Physically Disabled (Fédération des Associations des Handicapés Moteurs, FAHM) and the National Algerian Office for Equipment and Accessories for Disabled People (Office Nationale d’Appareillages et d’Accessoires pour Personnes handicapées, ONAAPH) continued activities noted in previous editions of Landmine Monitor.^[65] The ONAAPH network is costly and several satellites do not receive enough government support to maintain services. Provision of mobility devices can be slow (2.5 months) for more remote areas. ONAAPH estimates that 50 to 60 percent of its patients in the east and west are mine/ERW survivors. It assists on average 130,000 people with disabilities per year but was not able to specify the number of mine/ERW survivors. The main need for ONAAPH is better-quality training for technical staff.^[66]

The National Association of Civilian Victims of Antipersonnel Mines is active in 21 districts (wilayat) with a membership of 2,500 survivors. It provides referral, legal assistance and ad hoc support. It is said to be in need of management and infrastructure support.^[67]

Other survivors’ organizations or disabled people’s organizations are: El Baraka, Organization of the Physically Disabled of 14 March in Naâma, Organization for the Promotion of Disability in Skikda, IRADA in El Tarf, Association for Solidarity with Disabled and Mine Victims, Organization for the Protection of People with Disabilities in Béchar, and the Organization of Civilian Mine Victims in Souk-Ahras. Most of these organizations are small-scale local initiatives facilitating access to compensation, providing micro-credit projects, financial, material and referral support, and raising awareness. They face similar capacity, resource and long-term sustainability challenges. Handicap International will assist a number of these in developing their organizational structure.^[68]

Funding and Assistance

In 2006 international donations totaling US$253,546 (€201,820) for mine action in Algeria were reported by three countries.^[69] Landmine Monitor did not identify any donations in 2005. Donor countries reporting funding in 2006 were:

• Belgium: €100,000 ($125,630) to UNDP for integrated mine action;^[70]
• Canada: C$120,000 ($105,816) to UNDP for integrated mine action;^[71]
• Slovenia: SIT4,250,001 ($22,100) for mine action and coordination.^[72]

UNDP reported Canada and Belgium as partners in the two-year project to support mine action in Algeria. The total project budget was reported as $1,200,000. The Algerian government had pledged $400,000 to the project; Canada’s contribution was reported as $129,000, Belgium’s as $127,000 and UNDP’s as $460,000.^[73]