Nagorno-Karabakh

Stockpile	Unknown
Contamination	APMs, AVMs, AXO, CBU and other UXO
Estimated area of contamination	At least 6.6 km2 of mined areas; battle area unquantified
Demining in 2006	Mined area clearance: 5.99 km2 (2005: 5.59 km2) Battle area clearance: 14.3 km2 (2005: 12.82 km2) Area cancellation/reduction: 2.01 km2 (2005: 2.43 km2)
MRE capacity	Adequate
Mine/ERW casualties in 2006	Total: 14 (2005:18) Mines: 2 (2005: 8) ERW: 12 (2005: 10)
Casualty analysis	Killed: 2 (1 adult civilian, 1 child) (2005: 3) Injured: 12 (5 adult civilians, 7 children) (2005: 15)
Estimated mine/ERW survivors	227 (2005: 101)
Availability of services in 2006	Inadequate
Mine action funding in 2006	International: $752,041/€598,616
Key developments since May 2006	Over 21 km2 of suspected hazardous areas were demined in 2006, a record for HALO in Nagorno-Karabakh. MRE reached 15,291 people, including 110 villages for the first time.

Mine Ban Policy

Nagorno-Karabakh is not recognized by any UN member state.^[1] Its political and military leaders have stated their support for an eventual ban on antipersonnel mines, but have indicated that Nagorno-Karabakh would not join the Mine Ban Treaty now even if eligible to do so. Nagorno-Karabakh would not join the agreement until the conflict with Azerbaijan was resolved and all states in the region supported a ban on antipersonnel mines.^[2]

Nagorno-Karabakh has stated that it has never produced or exported mines, and has not purchased new mines since 1995. Its antipersonnel mine stockpile consists of mines left over from the former Soviet Union (PMN-2, POMZ-3 and OZM-72 mines).^[3]

Landmine Monitor received no reports of new mine use in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2006 or the first half of 2007.

Landmine and ERW Problem^[4]

Nagorno-Karabakh is affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) from the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan between February 1988 and 1994. There is also contamination from cluster submunitions.^[5]

Since 1995 a total of 28.8 square kilometers of land have been identified as mine contaminated, according to the HALO Trust. As of 1 May 2007, 20.1 square kilometers had been released and 6.6 square kilometers remained to be demined, including 5 square kilometers contaminated by PMN2 antipersonnel blast mines, which will make clearance slower than in previous years. One press report in early 2007 claimed that it would take five to six years to declare Nagorno-Karabakh “mine impact free.”^[6]

ERW contamination, particularly UXO, is spread throughout the country, including in areas where no fighting took place, as bombing was conducted throughout the region.

As most of the mines and UXO in urban areas have been cleared, people in rural areas are now the most affected by contamination. The most affected groups are said to be children (girls as well as boys), farmers, shepherds and those engaged in scrap metal collection.

Mine Action Program

The Mine Action Coordination Committee (MACC) has no formal membership, but most of the relevant actors and ministries are said to attend meetings. Its primary role is liaison between the de facto government and HALO.^[7]

HALO set up a mine action center in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2000 for information collation and dissemination to all those interested in mine action activities; it includes most NGOs and other organizations operating in the region. All HALO survey and clearance data are available from this center. It is staffed by HALO personnel, who work closely with other NGOs, the de facto government ministries, farmers and landowners.

HALO produces its own workplan each year from the input of various agencies, regional administrations and government ministries. HALO expects to remain for a further five to six years in Nagorno-Karabakh until the territory can be declared “mine impact-free.”

Internal quality assurance and quality control is carried out in accordance with HALO’s global standing operating procedures. No specific post-clearance study of land use has taken place, although donors, development agencies and the host “government” review post-clearance land use. According to HALO, donor representatives regularly visit the program to assess implementation. The HALO Director and Desk Officer conduct regular assessment missions.

Integration of Mine Action with Reconstruction and Development

HALO has stated that it takes account of the demands of reconstruction and development agencies. During 2006 this included clearance in support of reconstruction of the water pipeline running from Jinni to Martakert; the survey of more than 40 villages for a local NGO involved in shelter construction and water projects; technical survey of archeological sites in Nor Maragha; and, clearance of routes and surrounding areas close to gold mines for the Base Metals mining company, which employs over 1,000 local people and is one of the mainstays of the economy.

Demining

Demining in Nagorno-Karabakh continues to be carried out primarily by HALO using five teams for manual demining, four for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), two for technical survey, one for mechanical demining and one for mine risk education.^[8] The Karabakhi Department of Emergency Situations conducts limited EOD.

HALO uses manual and mechanical assets for clearance of mined and battle areas. It has standing operating procedures specific to Nagorno-Karabakh. Several amendments were made in 2005 to accommodate specific requirements, such as clearance of plastic antivehicle mines, use of ground compensating detectors and sub-surface clearance of submunitions.^[9]

Identification, Marking and Fencing of Affected Areas

Technical survey of suspected contaminated land continued in 2006-2007. In 2006 and the first six months of 2007 HALO technically surveyed 48 new minefields and 20 new areas containing UXO. HALO also has a designated survey team (with EOD capacity) for new battle areas, which deals with UXO on a daily basis; it dealt with 293 EOD call-outs in 2006, while from January to June 2007 it responded to 100 call-outs.

Survey of cluster munition strike sites was accelerated at the end of 2006 with the aim of surveying all sites by mid-2007. Around 100 of the expected 150 sites were surveyed between January 2006 and the end of June 2007.^[10]

HALO’s technical survey teams conduct marking of affected areas using rectangular metal danger signs; no fencing is erected.

Mine/ERW Clearance

HALO cleared almost 6 square kilometers of mined areas and more than 14 square kilometers of battle areas during 2006, with the destruction of 1,340 antipersonnel mines, 151 antivehicle mines, 2,237 items of UXO and 2,629 items of AXO. A further 2.01 square kilometers of suspected hazardous areas were cancelled or reduced. This represents more clearance than in any other previous year, resulting, according to HALO, from careful planning and deployment as well as the accelerated clearance of minefields containing only antivehicle mines. Survey of most of the minefields was completed during 2006, enabling more accurate calculation of remaining areas. Concurrently, accelerated survey of remaining battle areas was started in 2006, which is planned to be completed by the end of 2007.

In 2007 HALO expanded its manual demining capacity by 15 percent, and doubled its battle area clearance and mechanical demining capacity. HALO expected to finish clearing most of the antivehicle minefields by the end of the year.

From 2002 to 2006 HALO released a total of 93.61 square kilometers by mine clearance, battle area clearance and area reduction/cancellation. There has been an increase in clearance every year, due to careful planning, expansion of the clearance capacity and technical survey.

Demining by HALO Trust in Nagorno-Karabakh: 2002-2006

Year	Mined area clearance (km2)	Battle area clearance (km2)	Area reduced or cancelled (km2)	Total area released (km2)
2002	0.39	11.80	1.48	13.67
2003	2.31	14.50	0.53	17.34
2004	3.64	14.28	1.71	19.63
2005	5.59	12.82	2.43	20.84
2006	5.99	14.13	2.01	22.13
Total	17.92	67.53	8.16	93.61

Mine Risk Education^[11]

As in previous years, HALO was the only provider of mine risk education (MRE) in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2006. It reached twice as many people as in 2005, a total of 15,291 people in 260 villages, including some 110 new villages which had not received MRE previously. Three MRE staff trained 850 people as MRE educators, including village mayors, school teachers and members of the civil administration.

HALO’s MRE program contains two separate components, one for children and one for adults. Adult education sessions are conducted through personal meetings and training sessions, as well as screening of a 10-minute video demonstration focusing on types of mines/ERW, dangerous areas, and appropriate responses to finding mines/ERW. Participants also receive a written handout following the training session.

Education for children is conducted in classrooms. A 10-minute video is used for children as well, after which trainers lead games to review the information. Children also receive posters, brochures and notebooks. HALO has distributed 347 posters, 2,823 brochures and 6,719 notebooks to children in schools participating in MRE programs.

Mine/ERW Casualties

In 2006, HALO reported 14 new mine/ERW casualties in 10 incidents; two people were killed and 12 injured; all were civilians.^[12] This represents a slight decrease compared to 18 casualties reported by the Department for Emergency Situations in 2005 and a continuing decrease from 34 casualties in 2004.^[13]

At least eight of the casualties were children (seven boys and one girl); four of the child casualties occurred while playing with ERW. The other casualties were men. Of the 10 incidents, eight were caused by ERW while antipersonnel and antivehicle mines caused one each. The number of ERW casualties increased in 2006 (12 of 14) compared to 2005 (10 of 18). Landmine casualties constituted the majority of all mine/ERW casualties from 1995 to 2004. Incidents occurred mostly while playing and farming (four each), and herding (three); no scrap metal collection incidents have been recorded since 2004. No military or deminer casualties were reported in 2006. Incidents occurred in the Askeran, Lachin, Martuni, and Martakert regions.^[14]

Casualties continued to be reported in 2007. In January, a 13 year-old boy was injured while playing with ERW in Martuni region.^[15]

Since 1995 farming and playing have been the most common activities of casualties in mine/ERW incidents. Incidents have been recorded in ten regions of Nagorno-Karabakh; primarily in Askaran, Hadrut, Lachin, Martakert, and Martuni.^[16]

Data Collection

There is no complete casualty data collection mechanism in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Working Group on Mine Problems collects and shares casualty data with the Department of Emergency Situations and HALO. The Ministry of Defense does not provide information on military casualties. HALO started casualty data collection in 1995 and continues to collect information on new incidents, but it is not comprehensive.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Ministry of Social Security recorded 360 casualties between 1994 and the end of 2005, with at least 101 injured from 2000 to 2005.^[17] HALO had recorded 290 casualties (63 people killed, and 227 injured) from 1995 to March 2007.^[18]

Survivor Assistance

The healthcare system in Nagorno-Karabakh has been seriously affected by a lack of resources and skilled staff, as well as by the general economic situation. Services for people with disabilities are provided by the Ministry of Social Security and the Ministry of Health. All mine/ERW survivors receive free or discounted treatment at both civilian and military hospitals. Officially most people with disabilities are entitled to free medical treatment, however in reality they must often pay through unofficial hidden costs to medical staff.^[19] A 2006 Ministry of Health policy providing annual wage increases for doctors was reported to have improved the provision of healthcare.^[20]

In 2006 the ICRC acknowledged that there is a need for survivor assistance projects in Nagorno-Karabakh, but no activities were undertaken to improve the situation.^[21]

Nagorno-Karabakh has laws to protect people with disabilities, including survivors, and provides monthly pensions corresponding to the level of disability. All new mine/ERW casualties or their families receive one-time financial compensation.^[22]

In 2006 the Ministry of Health improved available medical capacity through the construction of a polyclinic and diagnostic center, a children’s facility and restoration of the Children’s Hospital.^[23]

The ICRC continued its support to primary healthcare in rural and conflict-affected districts in coordination with the Ministry of Health by providing supplies and staff training. Support went to 66 facilities (65 in 2005) including three regional centers and the rehabilitation center in Stepanakert.^[24]

Two national centers, the Prosthetic and Orthopedic Center (POC) operated by the Ministry of Social Security, and the Republican Rehabilitation Center operated by the Ministry of Health, provide prosthetics and rehabilitation. The POC in Stepanakert provides physical rehabilitation, prosthetics, and psychosocial support services to people with disabilities including landmine/ERW survivors, but resources were limited. In 2006 the center produced 146 prosthetic devices (153 in 2005). The number of devices delivered has been declining since 2000.^[25]

In 2006 the Center for Psychological Rehabilitation was transferred to the Republic Children’s Hospital. It continued delivering psychological assistance to adults, although very few applied.^[26] Free psychological assistance is also available in the central regional hospitals of Martinu, Martakert and Hadrut.^[27]

Veterans groups are active in Nagorno-Karabakh.^[28] In 2006 the government sponsored 14 members of the Veteran’s NGO Public Organization on Assistance to Artsakh (Karabakh) War Invalids (VITA) to receive spa treatment in Saki, Ukraine. Two of VITA’s 30 members were mine survivors in 2006.^[29]

Funding and Assistance

The Netherlands reported contributing €598,616 ($752,041) to mine action in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2006, through HALO for mine clearance.^[30] This was a slight decrease in funding by the Netherlands compared to 2005 (€667,638/$831,143). The United States, the other major contributor in 2005 did not report contributions from USAID to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2006.

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