LANDMINES TITLES OF RELATED INTEREST Landmines in El Salvador & Nicaragua The Civilian Victims (1986) Americas Watch Landmines in Cambodia The Coward's War (1991) Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights Hidden Death Landmines and Civilian Casualties in Iraqi Kurdistan (1992) Middle East Watch Hidden Enemies Landmines in Northern Somalia (1992) Physicians for Human Rights Landmines in Angola (1993) Africa Watch LANDMINES A Deadly Legacy The Arms Project of Human Rights Watch &&& Physicians for Human Rights Human Rights Watch New York !!! Washington !!! Los Angeles !!! London Copyright 8 October 1993 by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 93 80418 ISBN 1-56432-113-4 Cover photo shows a collection of antipersonnel and antitank landmines in Iraqi Kurdistan. Copyright 8 R. Maro; courtesy of Medico International (Germany). THE ARMS PROJECT OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH The Arms Project of Human Rights Watch was formed in 1992 with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation for the purposes of monitoring and seeking to prevent arms transfers to governments or organizations that either grossly violate internationally recognized human rights or grossly violate the laws of war. It also seeks to promote freedom of information and expression about arms transfers worldwide. The Arms Project takes a special interest in weapons that are prominent in human rights abuse and the abuse of non-combatants. The director of the Arms Project is Kenneth Anderson and its Washington director is Stephen D. Goose. Barbara Baker and Cesar Bolaños are New York staff associates, and Kathleen Bleakley is the Washington staff associate. Monica Schurtman is counsel. Members of the international advisory committee of the Arms Project are: Morton Abramowitz, Nicole Ball, Frank Blackaby, Frederick C. Cuny, Ahmed H. Esa, Jo Husbands, Frederick J. Knecht, Andrew J. Pierre, Gustavo Gorriti, Di Hua, Edward J. Laurance, Vincent McGee, Aryeh Neier, Janne E. Nolan, David Rieff, Kumar Rupesinghe, John Ryle, Mohamed Sahnoun, Gary Sick and Tom Winship. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Human Rights Watch conducts regular, systematic investigations of human rights abuses in some sixty countries around the world. It addresses the human rights practices of governments of all political stripes, of all geopolitical alignments, and of all ethnic and religious persuasions. In internal wars it documents violations by both governments and rebel groups. Human Rights Watch defends freedom of thought and expression, due process of law and equal protection of the law; it documents and denounces murders, disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, exile, censorship and other abuses of internationally recognized human rights. Human Rights Watch began in 1978 with the founding of Helsinki Watch by a group of publishers, lawyers and other activists and now maintains offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, Moscow, Belgrade, Bucharest and Hong Kong. Today, it includes Africa Watch, Americas Watch, Asia Watch, Helsinki Watch, Middle East Watch, and four collaborative projects, the Arms Project, Prison Project, Women's Rights Project, and the Fund for Free Expression. Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly. The executive committee includes Robert L. Bernstein, chair; Adrian W. DeWind, vice chair; Roland Algrant, Lisa Anderson, Peter D. Bell, Alice L. Brown, William Carmichael, Dorothy Cullman, Irene Diamond, Jonathan Fanton, Alan Finberg, Jack Greenberg, Alice H. Henkin, Stephen L. Kass, Marina Pinto Kaufman, Alexander MacGregor, Peter Osnos, Bruce Rabb, Orville Schell, Gary Sick, and Malcolm Smith. The staff includes Kenneth Roth, executive director; Holly J. Burkhalter, Washington director; Gara LaMarche, associate director; Ellen Lutz, California director; Susan Osnos, press director; Jemera Rone, counsel; Michal Longfelder, Development director; Stephanie Steele, operations director; Allyson Collins, research associate; Joanna Weschler, Prison Project director; Kenneth Anderson, Arms Project director; Dorothy Q. Thomas, Women's Rights Project director; and Gara LaMarche, the Fund for Free Expression director. The executive directors of the divisions of Human Rights Watch are Abdullahi An-Na'im, Africa Watch; Juan E. Méndez, Americas Watch; Sidney Jones, Asia Watch; Jeri Laber, Helsinki Watch; and Andrew Whitley, Middle East Watch. Addresses for Human Rights Watch 485 Fifth Avenue 1522 K Street, N.W., #910 New York, NY 10017-6104 Washington, DC 20005 Tel: (212) 972-8400 Tel: (202) 371-6592 Fax: (212) 972-0905 Fax: (202) 371-0124 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] 10951 West Pico Blvd., #203 90 Borough High Street Los Angeles, CA 90064 London, UK SE1 1LL Tel: (310) 475-3070 Tel: (071) 378-8008 Fax: (310) 475-5613 Fax: (071) 378-8029 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is an organization of physicians and other health professionals that brings the knowledge and skills of the medical sciences to the investigation and prevention of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. PHR works to apply the special skills of health professionals to stop torture, "disappearances" and political killings by governments and opposition groups; to report on conditions and protection of detainees in prisons and refugee camps; to investigate the physical and psychological consequences of violations of humanitarian law and medical ethics in internal and international conflicts; to defend the right of civilians and combatants to receive medical care during times of war; to protect health professionals who are victims of human rights abuses; and to prevent medical complicity in torture and other human rights abuses. Since 1986, PHR has sent over forty fact-finding and emergency missions to over twenty-five countries. PHR bases its actions on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights and humanitarian agreements. The organization adheres to a policy of strict impartiality and is concerned with the medical consequences of human rights abuses regardless of the ideology of the offending government or group. H. Jack Geiger, M.D. is President; Carola Eisenberg, M.D. is Vice President; Eric Stover is Executive Director; Susannah Sirkin is Deputy Director; Kari Hannibal is Membership and Education Coordinator; Gina VanderLoop is Development Director; Barbara Ayotte is Senior Program Associate; Shana Swiss, M.D. is Director of Women's Program; Vincent Iacopino, M.D. is Western Regional Representative; and Clyde C. Snow is Senior Forensic Consultant. Physicians for Human Rights can be reached at 100 Boylston Street, Suite 702, Boston, MA 02116; Tel: (617) 695-0041; Fax: (617) 695-0307. To the mine clearers CONTENTS Preface by Senator Patrick J. Leahy......................................................................................xi 1. A Weapon of Mass Destruction in Slow Motion..........................................3 2. The Development and Use of Landmines......................................................16 3. Global Production and Trade in Landmines...............................................35 4. Transparency in the Production and Trade in Landmines.......................................................................................................... 107 5. Overview of the Medical and Social Consequences of the Use of Landmines ...................................................................................117 6. Country Case Studies of the Landmines Problem Global Overview ....................................................................................................141 Angola ........................................................................................................................149 Cambodia.................................................................................................................165 El Salvador ...............................................................................................................184 Iraqi Kurdistan......................................................................................................188 Mozambique..........................................................................................................204 Nicaragua.................................................................................................................216 Northern Somalia................................................................................................221 7. Mine Clearance........................................................................................................234 8. International Law Governing Landmines...................................................261 9. Initiatives to Control Landmines.....................................................................319 10. The Future of Landmines.....................................................................................332 11. Conclusion..................................................................................................................350 Appendices..................................................................................................................357 Bibliography...............................................................................................................485