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Reports
on Nepal's Civil War: Landmines
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September 2006
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At
least 1,290 people have been killed by landmines planted by government
troops and Maoist rebels during Nepal's decade-old conflict, "International
Campaign to Ban Landmines" said.
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The
victims, including nearly 200 women and children, are among more than 13,000
people killed since Maoist rebels launched their "People's War" in 1996.
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No
new use of landmines under new code of conduct offers a glimmer of hope
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May 2005
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In
the code of conduct agreedat the end of the first round of peace talks
on 26 May 2006, the Nepalese government and Maoist groups committed to
refrain from new use of landmines: a welcome development in a country where
both sides of the internal conflict have been resorting to these indiscriminate
weapons. |
The
announced commitment by both government forces and Maoist groups not to
make further use of landmines as they seek a solution to their conflict,
if implemented, would be a positive indication of the political will to
put an end to the deaths and suffering these weapons indiscriminately cause
to civilians across Nepal, said the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
(ICBL).
The
ICBL's statement came in response to the inclusion of a provision which
committed both sides to refrain from laying new mines as part of a 25-point
code of conduct concluded by the government of Nepal and the Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist) during the first round of negotiations in Kathmandu
on 26 May. The provision is included in Article 3 of the Code of Conduct.
"We
hope that this will be the first step toward a total ban on the use, production
and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines both by the Nepalese Army and Maoist
groups," added Purna Shova Chitrakar, Coordinator of the Nepalese Campaign
to Ban Landmines.
According
to the ICBL's Landmine Monitor Report 2005, Nepal was one of only three
countries in the world where government forces were using antipersonnel
mines in 2005 and one of 13 where armed opposition groups were using these
weapons. Both sides continued to use mines in 2006. Nepal is also among
the last 13 remaining producers of antipersonnel landmines. While there
is no official mechanism to record landmine casualties in the country,
in 2004 the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines (NCBL) recorded 389 people
killed and 1,056 injured bylandmines, unexploded ordnance and improvised
explosive devices, approximately half of which were civilians. In 2005,
the NCBL recorded 771 casualties, including 99 children.
The
ICBL urged the newly formed Nepalese government to accede to the 1997 Mine
Ban Treaty which comprehensively prohibits the use, production, transfer
and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines and requires clearance of mined
areas and assistance to mine survivors. A total of 151 countries have joined
the treaty. ICBL also called on the Maoist leadership to take steps to
renounce forever the use of antipersonnel mines and facilitate mine clearance
and survivors' assistance.
"We
have seen in other conflict situations, such as Sudan, that the adoption
of joint measures on landmines can be a powerful tool to build confidence
and dialogue between warring parties, and we hope this will be the case
in Nepal as well," concluded Sylvie Brigot, ICBL's Executive Director.
The
ICBL will continue to support the efforts of its member organisation in
Nepal, the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines, to achieve a total ban on antipersonnel
mines in the country as quickly as possible.
Author(s):
Simona Beltrami <simona@campagnamine.org>, 30 May 2006
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