Western Sahara
Ten-Year Summary
Both the Polisario Front and Moroccan forces used antipersonnel mines until the 1991 UN-monitored cease-fire. In 1999, a Polisario representative stated that it would join the Mine Ban Treaty if eligible to do so. In November 2005, Polisario proclaimed a ban on antipersonnel mines by signing the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment. Polisario has been destroying its stockpile of antipersonnel mines since 2006.
Western Sahara is contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). A 2008 survey by Landmine Action identified considerable contamination, particularly from unexploded submunitions and mines. Landmine Action initiated battle area clearance operations in 2008.
Between 1999 and 2008, Landmine Monitor identified 151 mine/ERW casualties in Western Sahara (44 people killed, 102 injured, and five unknown) with most casualties reported in 2006–2008. Casualty data collection improved over the past decade, but was incomplete and the number of casualties was probably under-reported. Intensive risk education was carried out from 1998–2000. After this, efforts were limited and mostly carried out by volunteers in programs that lacked the funding necessary for adequate dissemination of risk messages.
Victim assistance efforts have been limited throughout the past decade. Emergency transport remained inadequate and many mine/ERW survivors died before reaching assistance. Medical facilities in refugee camps lacked adequately trained staff and resources. Rehabilitation and prosthetics improved in 2008, with the start of an ICRC-supported program. Despite some assistance, there was an acute lack of economic opportunities for survivors and psychological support in refugee camps.
Mine Ban Policy
The sovereignty of Western Sahara remains the subject of a dispute between the government of Morocco and the Polisario Front (the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro). Polisario’s Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a member of the African Union, but is not universally recognized. It has no official representation in the UN, which prevents formal accession to the Mine Ban Treaty. Polisario officials have, since 1999, stated that they would adhere to the Mine Ban Treaty if permitted to do so.
On 3 November 2005, Polisario Minister of Defense, Mohamed Lamine Buhali, committed Polisario unilaterally to a ban on antipersonnel mines through the Deed of Commitment administered by the NGO Geneva Call. The Deed pledges Polisario to a ban on use, production, transfer and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines, and to cooperation in mine action.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling
Both Polisario and the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces used mines extensively until the 1991 UN-monitored cease-fire. In the past decade, Morocco and Polisario have periodically traded accusations of new mine use, but both have denied it.[1] In October 2008, Moroccan officials told a visiting ICBL delegation that Polisaro rebels are still laying mines, but no concrete evidence has been presented.[2] In May 2009, however, Morocco told Landmine Monitor that it did not have any information about Polisario mine use in 2007 or 2008.[3]
Polisario is not known to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines. Polisario officials claim they acquired antipersonnel mines in the past by lifting them from Moroccan minefields, especially those around the berms (defensive earthen walls about three meters high).[4] Based on mines destroyed in 2006, 2007, and 2008, Polisario stocks have included antipersonnel mines of Belgian, Chinese, German, Israeli, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Soviet, United Kingdom, and Yugoslav manufacture.[5]
Polisario has not revealed the total number of antipersonnel mines it possesses. In 2002, Polisario told Landmine Monitor that it no longer had a stockpile of antipersonnel mines, except for 1,606 disarmed mines on display in a military museum.[6] In January 2006, however, Polisario’s Chief Engineer told Landmine Monitor that its stockpile consisted of more than 10,000 antipersonnel and antivehicle mines.[7]
Polisario has undertaken three public destructions of stockpiled antipersonnel mines, pursuant to the Deed of Commitment. It destroyed a combined total of 8,637 antipersonnel mines in February 2006 (3,316 mines), February 2007 (3,321 mines), and May 2008 (2,000 mines).[8] Landmine Monitor had previously reported that the 2006 and 2007 destruction events included 284 antivehicle mines. Geneva Call, which requested clarification from Polisario, was told that the destroyed mines were MK1 antipersonnel mines, not K1 antivehicle mines. Polisario also said that mines recorded as FMP1 were actually Portuguese-made M969 mines.[9]
Scope of the Problem
Contamination
Western Sahara is contaminated with mines and ERW, especially cluster munition remnants and other UXO, although the precise extent of contamination is not known. More than 2,000km of berms were built during conflict in the 1980s, and remained after the 1991 cease-fire between Morocco and Polisario. Moroccan troops emplaced antipersonnel and antivehicle mines in and around the berms. Landmine Action has claimed that Western Sahara is “one of the most heavily mined territories in the world.”[10]
Landmine Action deployed to Western Sahara in 2006 and trained local operators to conduct a survey of dangerous areas and items. The survey, which concluded at the end of 2008, identified 154 cluster munition strike sites, 40 mined areas, one ammunition storage area, and 486 individual items requiring spot clearance.[11] It found that contamination is concentrated around water holes, traditional settlement sites, and transport routes and determined that unexploded submunitions pose the greatest threat to people and animals.[12] Landmine Action believes that further survey is required in the 5km buffer zone leading to the berms.[13]
Casualties
Casualty data is hard to obtain. From reports received, Landmine Monitor identified 26 casualties (nine killed, 16 injured, and one unknown) in Western Sahara in 2008, resulting from 16 mine/ERW/cluster munition incidents. Casualties included 12 adults (11 men, one of unknown gender), four children (three boys and one girl) and 10 casualties of unknown age (at least three of whom were male, the gender of the rest was unknown). Antivehicle mines caused 10 casualties, antipersonnel mines four, submunitions four, and unknown devices eight. Seven casualties occurred in Polisario-controlled Western Sahara (one killed and six injured) and 19 casualties occurred in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara (eight killed, 10 injured, and one unknown). The most common activities at the time of the incident were travel (seven), herding/tending livestock (six), and playing (three). The activities of the other casualties at the time of the incident were not known [14]
Morocco reported 11 mine/ERW casualties (three killed and eight injured) in an annex to its voluntary Article 7 report for calendar year 2008, in mine-affected provinces of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.[15] Mauritania’s National Humanitarian Demining Program for Development (Programme National de Déminage Humanitaire pour le Développement, PNDHD) reported that two men from Mauritania, both nomadic herders, became casualties in a mine incident in Western Sahara in 2008. It was not noted if they were killed or injured. [16] It is not clear if these casualties overlap with those identified by Landmine Monitor in 2008.
The 26 casualties identified in 2008 represent a decrease from the 36 mine/ERW casualties in 18 incidents identified in Western Sahara in 2007 (12 killed and 24 injured). However, reporting for 2008 is not thought to be comprehensive. In 2007, seven casualties also occurred in Polisario-controlled Western Sahara (three killed and four injured) and 29 in were reported in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara (nine killed and 20 injured).
Casualties continued to occur in 2009, with 22 reported as of 10 August. One person was killed and 21 injured in nine mine/ERW incidents, include one citizen of Mauritania. Eight casualties occurred in Polisario-controlled Western Sahara (all were injured) and 14 were reported in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara (one killed and 13 injured). Six casualties were caused by antipersonnel mines, 11 by antivehicle mines, four by unknown mine types, and one by ERW.[17] This number includes five people injured while crossing a mined area of the berm during a protest, some 70km from the Saharawi refugee camps.[18]
In 2009, PNDHD reported two Mauritanian casualties, both nomadic men in two separate incidents in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. One incident was caused by an antipersonnel mine and the other by an antivehicle mine. Both casualties died while being transported to Mauritania for emergency medical assistance.[19] There was insufficient detail to ascertain if these casualties were included in other reporting for Western Sahara.
Between 1999 and 2008, Landmine Monitor identified 151 mine/ERW casualties in Western Sahara (44 people killed, 102 injured, and five unknown). The majority, 86 casualties, were reported in the period from 2006–2008. This was most likely due to improved casualty data collection in recent years. The total probably under-represents the actual number of casualties during the period.[20]The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Western Sahara is not known and many incidents may not be recorded; estimates of the number of casualties since 1975 range up to some 2,500 people.[21] According to official Polisario estimates found in the ICRC annual report there were some 450 mine/ERW survivors from Western Sahara among the refugee population living in camps in Algeria.[22] A Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) assessment in the Tindouf refugee camps in 2000 identified 320 landmine survivor amputees. The Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines (SCBL) registered 345 mine/ERW survivors from the refugee camps. The Moroccan Association of Mine Victims in Smara reported that in 2007 at least 100 mine survivors were living in Smara, in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.
Risk profile
Based on casualty and survey data the people most at risk of mine/ERW incidents are nomads with their herds, children playing, and people driving cars or riding camels. Mine/ERW contamination is concentrated around water holes, traditional settlement sites, and transport routes.[23]
Program Management and Coordination
The UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) has established a mine action coordination center (MACC), which was upgraded from a mine action “cell” in February 2008. Western Sahara does not have official victim assistance or risk education coordination.
Data collection and management
The MACC began to collect mine/ERW casualty data in 2008, and data collection continued to improve in 2008–2009, though under-reporting likely continued.[24] Due to the lack of facilities—including hospitals—in Western Sahara, incidents in remote areas often go unreported. In addition, people who are injured by mines/ERW close to the vicinity of the buffer zone often do not seek medical assistance, due to the political situation.[25] As a result many of them unnecessarily die from their injuries.
As of June 2009, the MACC was not yet entering casualty data into the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA). IMSMA was being adjusted to accept casualty data for 2009.[26] In October 2008, the MACC installed IMSMA at the Landmine Action office in Tifariti and provided training to both local and UK-based staff. The format of casualty data collection forms was finalized and they were being used by Landmine Action for entry of current incidents into IMSMA. No retrospective entry of casualty data had taken place as of August 2009. Landmine Action planned to work with the Chehid Cherif Landmine and War Victims Centre in Rabouni to verify casualty data at the center and enter it into IMSMA. [27]
The Collective of Saharawi Human Rights Defenders El-Aaiun Western Sahara (Collectif des défenseurs saharaouis des droits de l’homme El-Aaiun Sahara Occidental, CODESA) occasionally identified casualties reported in the media, but did not systematically report on casualties in 2008. In 2008, CODESA continued to operate informally, but a lack of legal status hindered its activities.[28] The SCBL did not provide casualty data to Landmine Monitor for 2008–2009.
Mine action program operators
National operators and activities
Demining
Risk education
Casualty data collection
Victim assistance
MINURSO/MACC
x
Chedid Cherif Landmine and War Victims Centre
x
x
Moroccan Red Crescent Society
x
International operators and activities
Demining
Risk education
Casualty data collection
Victim assistance
Landmine Action
x
x
ICRC
x
Plans
Strategic mine action plans
A strategic mine action plan is in place, and as of June 2009, an operational plan for MACC had been completed as well.[29]
Integration of mine action with reconstruction and development
From 2008–2009, Landmine Action conducted an assessment of how development could be supported in areas cleared of contamination by its clearance teams. The assessment identified the need to increase food security for semi-nomadic populations in the northern sector where water supplies are intermittent. Goat herders are said to be most affected by lack of water and take risks by entering known contaminated areas to reach water. Some have initiated their own agricultural schemes which face suspension in the dry season when water is insufficient and herders are forced to return to the refugee camps. A proposed project would build on current entrepreneurial efforts to facilitate access to water for herders, to be launched in areas where Landmine Action has cleared farmland.[30]
Local ownership
Commitment to mine action and victim assistance
In early 1999, Morocco and Polisario signed bilateral military agreements in which both parties agreed to cooperate with MINURSO in the exchange of mine-related information, marking of mined areas, and the clearance and destruction of mines and UXO in the presence of MINURSO observers. These agreements do not cover minefields along the berm and minefields that Morocco regards as an integral part of its defenses.[31]
Mine action standards/Standing operating procedures
Landmine Action uses its own standing operating procedures and works in accordance with Memorandum of Understandings it signed with MINURSO and Polisario.[32]
Demining and Battle Area Clearance
Landmine Action was the only international demining operator in Western Sahara in 2008. It conducted only battle area clearance (BAC) and explosive ordnance disposal in 2008, but was seeking funding in 2009 to equip and train teams to conduct mine clearance.[33]
Battle area clearance in 2008
In January 2008, while its survey was ongoing, Landmine Action began clearance operations. In June 2008, it completed clearance of the village of Budib and conducted its first community handover to the local population.[34] Results of Landmine Action BAC in 2008 are summarized below.
BAC in 2008[35]
Surface BAC* (m2)
Sub-surface BAC (m2)
Unexploded submunitions destroyed
Other UXO destroyed
Antipersonnel mines destroyed
Antivehicle mines destroyed
2,911,138
32,201
548
439
8
7
* Visual inspection
Risk Education
Moroccan authorities continued to report mine/ERW risk education (RE) in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara in 2008—to 12,600 herders and nomads in 12 provinces[36] MINURSO provided improved safety training for UN staff.[37] No activities were identified in the Polisario-controlled part of Western Sahara.[38]
RE was provided by the Moroccan Army, local authorities and representatives from rural communes, provincial health authorities, the provincial offices of the Moroccan Red Crescent Society, the Disabled Persons Support Association (Association d’Appui aux Personnes Handicapées), and the Moroccan Association of Mine Victims in 2008.[39]
The Moroccan Army and its Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie (state police under the military) conducted an RE campaign which included marking with warning signs, providing information to locals regarding forthcoming large-scale demining operations, and informing local people when the land had been cleared. An annual RE campaign is conducted through public outreach including conferences, media, pamphlets, and school visits to reach people likely to enter mine-affected areas.[40] Local volunteers were trained to disseminate RE. There was no permanent capacity to implement RE and authorities had to continuously retrain RE volunteers.[41]
A number of organizations have reported providing RE in past years, including, the Moroccan Association of Mine Victims (based in Smara) in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara in 2007, Landmine Action from 2006–2007, and the Saharawi Campaign to Ban Landmines from 2005–2007. From April 1998 to May 2000, NPA implemented a large-scale RE program for approximately 100,000 refugees in Western Sahara.
Victim Assistance
The total number of survivors is unknown; reporting has indicated that there are 450 survivors in the Rabouni refugee camps near Tindouf in southwestern Algeria and at least another 100 in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. Due to a lack of comprehensive data, these are likely significant underestimates.[42]
People involved in mine/ERW incidents in remote areas continued to die from their wounds in the long periods before receiving medical attention.[43] There are no ambulances and survivors have to wait for a passing vehicle to take them to the nearest health facility, which may be hours away. MINURSO increased its emergency response capacity for UN personnel working in contaminated areas in Polisario-controlled areas.[44] On the Moroccan side of the berm, there are medical facilities in the towns of Dakhla, La’Youn, Ousserd, and Smara. Some survivors were also treated in nearby towns in Morocco.[45]
Persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable in the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria. A continuing lack of adequate medical care and the absence of understanding about disability issues increased the vulnerability and distress of disabled refugees in the camps.[46]
The Polisario authorities offer basic free healthcare for all Saharawis in each of the four refugee camps near Tindouf.[47] The refugee camps’ health system consists of “regional hospitals” in camps and a referral hospital in Rabouni as well as a psychiatric hospital. Medical issues that cannot be treated in the camps are referred to nearby Tindouf, or more distant facilities if necessary. Medical facilities in the camps lacked resources, and services were dependent on international aid for medicines and materials. There was a lack of continuity of medical staff because qualified doctors and nurses work on a volunteer basis. Inadequate coordination between donors and humanitarian agencies contributing to the health system in the camps was reported in 2009.[48]
The Chedid Cherif Landmine and War Victims Centre in the Rabouni refugee camp continued to provide rehabilitation and socio-economic assistance to mine/ERW survivors, but faced challenges in providing services due to a lack of resources.[49]
In May 2008, the ICRC officially started producing and fitting prosthetic and orthotic appliances at the physical rehabilitation center established in the Chedid Cherif Landmine and War Victims Centre in 2007. ICRC services were directed to persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities.[50] The new center can produce 80–100 prostheses annually, as well as producing other mobility devices and providing physiotherapy. The ICRC began training nine locally-hired staff, five prosthetic-orthotic technicians, and four physiotherapists to build the capacity and sustainability of the center, and provided management support. [51] In 2008, 50 people benefited from services at the center, 18 receiving prostheses (94% of them for mine survivors). Other mobility devices were also produced and most beneficiaries received physiotherapy.[52] An improvement in the manufacture of prostheses was noted following the increased ICRC support.[53]
There is pervasive unemployment in the refugee camps. Mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities are among the worst affected. There was no suitable work and most remained permanently unemployed.[54] Polisario authorities and partner organizations in the camps have reportedly made significant efforts to assist persons with disabilities in economic reintegration, through income-generating schemes including small shops and a bakery.[55] In 2008, the NGO Triangle Génération Humanitaire (TGH) continued to provide economic reintegration assistance to the elderly and to persons with disabilities through centers in the four refugee camps. For 2008, TGH project staff were not aware of any direct program beneficiaries who were mine/ERW survivors.[56] Schools for children with disabilities, including physical disabilities, are run by Polisario in all of the Saharawi refugee camps.[57] Psychological support for those in the refugee camps is inadequate and the mental health needs of refugees are not systematically addressed.[58]
Morocco has reported that that the military makes land and air facilities available to transfer mine/ERW survivors to the nearest hospital, where they can receive medical care free of charge. Hospitals near mine-affected areas had their capacity increased in 2008.[59] Other accounts from mine survivors’ organizations have reported that mine/ERW survivors injured in areas of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara need to pay for their own emergency transportation and medical costs at hospitals in both Western Sahara and Morocco.[60] An orthopedic center, including a prosthetics workshop and services for mine/ERW survivors, is connected to the in El Hassan hospital, La’Youn, in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.[61] The ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) had planned to provide assistance to the orthopedic center in La’Youn in 2008, but the plan was delayed due to “procedural obstacles.”[62]
Support for Mine Action
In 2008, Spain reported contributing US$294,520 (€200,000) to mine action in Western Sahara, for unspecified mine action via the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance.[63] Reported mine action funding in 2008 was 67% less than reported in 2007. No international funding reported to Landmine Monitor since 2000 has specifically addressed VA needs in Western Sahara.
Landmine Action reported overall support for its programming in Western Sahara from Germany and Norway, as well as from UNMAS and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.[64]
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[1] See, for example, Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 651; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 717; and Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 1,059–1,060.
[2] ICBL, “Mission Report: Morocco, 26–29 October 2008.”
[3] Permanent Mission of Morocco to the UN in Geneva, “Response to Questions from the Canadian NGO Mines Action Canada,” 18 May 2009.
[4] They may have acquired mines from other sources as well. Some of the stockpiled mines Polisario has destroyed are not known to have been in Morocco’s arsenal, such as those of Belgian, Portuguese and Yugoslav origin.
[5] “Observations made during field mission by Landmine Action UK,” provided by email from Landmine Action, 3 May 2006. See also, Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 1,095; and Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1,196.
[6] Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire by Polisario, 27 June 2002.
[7] Interview with Mohammed Fadel Sidna, Chief Engineer, Second Military Regiment, Tifariti, 15 January 2006.
[8] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 1,118; Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 1,095; and Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1,196. The mines included: 96 M-35 (Belgium); six Type 58 (China); 5,480 VS-50 (Italy); 146 SB-33 (Italy); 76 M966 (Portugal); 20 M969 (Portugal); nine MAI75 (Romania); 303 MK1 [or Number 7] (UK); 109 PMD-6 (USSR); 1,490 PMD-6M (USSR); 12 PMN (USSR); 60 POMZ-2M (USSR); 535 PROM-1 (Yugoslavia); 267 VS-33 (unknown type, presumably Italian); 22 “NEGRO” (unknown type, attributed to Israeli origin); and six E-58 (unknown type, attributed to German origin).
[9] Geneva Call, “Information for Landmine Monitor 2009,” June 2009, received by email from Anne-Kathrin Glatz, Program Officer, Geneva Call, 5 June 2009.
[10] Landmine Action, “Western Sahara 2007 Activities,” London, April 2008, p. 2; and email from Melissa Fuerth, Operations Officer, Landmine Action, 19 June 2008.
[11] Melissa Fuerth, “Remnants of War: the legacy of armed conflict in Western Sahara,” Landmine Action campaign article provided by email from Melissa Fuerth, 20 February 2009.
[12] Email from Melissa Fuerth, Landmine Action, 20 February 2009.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Email from Tammy Hall, Senior Technical Advisor for Mine Action, MINURSO/MACC 29 June 2009; email from James Mbogo, IMSMA Officer, MINURSO/MACC, 19 August 2009; and email from Penelope Caswell, GIS Officer, Landmine Action, 16 July 2009.
[15] Morocco Voluntary Article 7 Report, “Annex,” April 2009.
[16]Telephone interview with Lt.-Col. Alioune O. Mohamed El Hacen, Coordinator, PNDHD, 24 June 2009.
[17] Email from James Mbogo, MINURSO/MACC, 19 August 2009; and email from Penelope Caswell, Landmine Action, 16 July 2009.
[18] Saharawi Journalists and Writers Union (Unión de Periodistas y Escritores Saharauis, UPES), “Five Saharawis injured by landmine blast during peaceful protest against Moroccan wall in Western Sahara,” 10 April 2009, www.upes.org.
[19] Interview with Lt.-Col. Alioune O. Mohamed El Hacen, PNDHD, in Geneva, 27 May 2009.
[20] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 1,122 (36 casualties in 2007); Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 1,099 (24 casualties in 2006); Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 1,199 (two casualties in 2005 and no confirmed casualties in 2004); Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1,221–1,222 (one casualty in 2003; four casualties in 2002; three casualties in 2001; four casualties in 2000 in one incident); and Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 1,037 (51 military casualties in 2000–2001).
[21] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 1,124; and Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 1,100.
[22] ICRC, “Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 27 May 2009, p. 375.
[23] Email from Melissa Fuerth, Landmine Action, 20 February 2009; and see Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 1,123.
[24] Telephone interview with Tammy Hall, MINURSO/MACC, 29 June 2009.
[25] Email from Penelope Caswell, Landmine Action, 16 July 2009.
[26] Telephone interview with Tammy Hall, MINURSO/MACC, 29 June 2009.
[27] Email from Melissa Fuerth, Landmine Action, 20 February 2009; and telephone interview with Penelope Caswell, Landmine Action, 19 August 2009.
[28] US Department of State, “2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Western Sahara,” Washington, DC, 25 February 2009; and Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 1,123.
[29] Email from Tammy Hall, MINURSO/MACC, 9 September 2009.
[30] Email from Melissa Fuerth, Landmine Action, 20 February 2009.
[31] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 1,097.
[32] Email from Melissa Fuerth, Landmine Action, 19 June 2008.
[33] Ibid, 20 February 2009.
[34] Melissa Fuerth, “Remnants of War: the legacy of armed conflict in Western Sahara,” Landmine Action campaign article provided by email, 20 February 2009.
[35] Email from Melissa Fuerth, Landmine Action, 20 February 2009.
[36] Moroccan Voluntary Article 7 Report, ‘Annex,’ April 2009.
[37] “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” (New York: UN Security Council, 13 April 2009), S/2009/200, para. 28, p. 7.
[38] Telephone interview with Tammy Hall, MINURSO/MACC, 29 June 2009; email from Gaici Nah Bachir, Association of Saharawi Victims of Mines (ASAVIM), 24 March 2009.
[39] Morocco Voluntary Article 7 Report, ‘Annex,’ April 2009; and see Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 940.
[40] Interview with El Arbi Mrabet, Governor, and Hamid Barez, Adjoint Coordinator, Office of the Coordination with MINURSO, Ministry of Interior, Rabat, 29 October 2008; statement of Morocco, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 25 May 2009; and Morocco Voluntary Article 7 Report, Form I, April 2009.
[41] Interview with El Arbi Mrabet and Hamid Barez, Ministry of Interior, Rabat, 29 October 2008.
[42] Estimate based on official Polisario estimate of 450 mine/ERW survivors from Western Sahara amongst the refugee population living in camps in Algeria. ICRC, “Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 27 May 2009, p. 375; and Moroccan Association of Mine Victims reporting at least 100 mine survivors in Smara. See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 1,124.
[43] Email from Gaici Nah Bachir, ASAVIM, 15 August 2009; and Landmine Monitor analysis of casualty data provided by email from Tammy Hall, MINURSO/MACC, 29 June 2009.
[44] “Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara,” (New York: UN Security Council, 13 April 2009), S/2009/200, paras. 27 and 28, p. 6.
[45] Landmine Monitor analysis of casualty data provided by email from Tammy Hall, MINURSO/MACC, 29 June 2009; Morocco Voluntary Article 7 Report, “Annex,” April 2009; Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 1,125; and see the report on Morocco in this edition of Landmine Monitor.
[46] TGH, “Improve the Living Conditions and Restore Basic Livelihoods of Disabled People in Saharawi Refugee Camps,” undated, www.trianglegh.org.
[47] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 1,125. The Sarahwi refugee camps in Algeria have identical names to these towns in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, which may sometimes cause confusion as to the location of medical facilities.
[48] European Commission (EC), “Supporting document to the Commission Decision on the approval and financing of a 2009 GLOBAL PLAN For humanitarian actions from the budget of the European Communities in Algeria, ECHO/DZA/BUD/2009/01000,”, April 2009, p. 4, ec.europa.eu.
[49] Email from Gaici Nah Bachir, ASAVIM, 15 August 2009.
[50] ICRC, “Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, 27 May 2009, p. 329.
[51] Ibid, p. 375; and ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, May 2009, p. 59.
[52] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, May 2009, pp. 58–59.
[53] Email from Gaici Nah Bachir, ASAVIM, 15 August 2009.
[54] Ibid.
[55] TGH, “Improve the Living Conditions and Restore Basic Livelihoods of Disabled People in Saharawi Refugee Camps,” undated, www.trianglegh.org.
[56] Email from Anne Trehondart, Project Manager, TGH, 7 April 2009.
[57] Timothy Kustusch, “Saharawi school sets standard in education for disabled,” UPES, 31 March 2009, www.upes.org.
[58] EC, “Supporting document to the Commission Decision on the approval and financing of a 2009 Global Plan for humanitarian actions from the budget of the European Communities in Algeria, ECHO/DZA/BUD/2009/01000,” April 2009, p. 4, ec.europa.eu.
[59] Statement of Morocco, Ninth Meeting of State Parties, Geneva, 26 November 2008; and interview with the Director of the Gelmim Military Hospital, Gelmim, 27 October 2008 in ICBL, “Mission Report: Morocco, 26–29 October 2008.”
[60] Email from Gaici Nah Bachir, ASAVIM, 15 August 2009; and Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 1,125.
[61] Interview with El Arbi Mrabet and Hamid Barez, Ministry of Interior, Rabat, 29 October 2008.
[62] ICRC SFD, “Annual Report 2008,” Geneva, April 2009, p. 23.
[63] Spain Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2009.
[64] Landmine Action, “Survey and clearance - Western Sahara”, www.landmineaction.org.
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