The Southern African Development Community and the Landmine Bank Treaty

INTRODUCTION

For more than thirty years, Southern Africa has endured costly intrastate and interstate conflicts, often complicated and intensified by external interventions and Cold War interests. Landmines were easily acquired from international allies and, during the post-colonial struggles in Southern Africa, became cheap and useful weapons for all factions.1

Although the importance of accurate figures is a matter for debate,2 most analysts agree that Southern Africa is one of the regions most affected by the legacy of landmines.3 The United Nations, however, lists only Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique as countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) with uncleared landmines.4 According to SADC’s landmine official, Joao Ndlovu, in contrast, seven Southern African countries are directly or indirectly affected by mines: Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. In most of these countries, mines were planted during liberation struggles against former colonial powers or apartheid South Africa,5 while in other cases, they resulted from the spillover from wars in neighbouring states.6

Southern Africa contains some of the world’s most heavily mined countries.7 The only countries that are members of SADC which have not had, or no longer have a significant landmine problem are Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius and the Seychelles. Even some of these countries have had landmine incidents at some time or another. In addition, the presence of an estimated 20 million landmines8 in Southern Africa, one-fifth of those in the world, represents a direct threat to the development, health, welfare and survival of many millions of people in the region.

Landmines have prevented refugees and displaced persons from returning to their homes; have undermined the peace process in the aftermath of conflicts; and have impacted negatively on sustainable economic development and reconstruction. Banning landmines is one of the most important and pressing issues in Africa. It is also one of the most politically charged.

MINE USE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Every group involved in Southern Africa’s liberation struggles against former colonial powers or South Africa’s previous apartheid government has used landmines.

These groups include the Portuguese colonial forces, South African minority rule forces, Rhodesian forces, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in South Africa, the Revolutionary Committee (Coremo) and the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA),9 and the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA).

Landmines were also used in the post-colonial wars in Angola and Mozambique, where the two governments, supporting forces (such as Cubans, Tanzanians and Zimbabweans), and rebel groups (such as UNITA, Renamo and Angola’s Front for the Liberation of the Cabindan Enclave (FLEC)) were known to lay mines.10

In the DRC, landmines were also laid in 1997 by forces loyal to the late President Mobutu Sese Seko and the forces supportive of President Laurent Kabila.11 Mercenary troops called in by Mobutu allegedly laid mines around Kisangani and the areas surrounding the Inga Dam hydroelectric facilities. The town of Mbuji-Mayi is said to be heavily mined.12 An international non-governmental organisation (NGO) also reported the presence of some landmines around Bukavu and Goma.13

Angola faces a problem of gigantic proportions with probably more than 6 million mines scattered across the country. Mozambique has a similar problem with estimates of between 250 000 to 1 million mines.14 Zimbabwe has an area on its eastern border of more than 1 million hectares where cultivation and development have been prevented for more than 20 years due to minefields laid during the time of the conflict. During the liberation war in Zimbabwe, the Rhodesian army boasted that their minefields laid to deter attacks constituted the world’s second largest manmade barrier after the Great Wall of China.15

SOURCES OF LANDMINES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

The use of antipersonnel landmines has been widespread in the colonial and post-colonial wars that have plagued much of Southern Africa for the last three decades. During this period, many millions of landmines were imported into the region, while a smaller number were locally manufactured. At least two countries in Southern Africa have produced and exported antipersonnel landmines — South Africa and Zimbabwe — and it is possible that mines have also been manufactured in Namibia.16 Landmines have been available in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia in exchange for food or second-hand clothing. Mines were offered in the South African press for as little as US $25 for home protection.17

Sixty-eight types of antipersonnel mines from 23 different countries have been found in Southern Africa: Austria; Belgium; China; Cuba; the former Czechoslovakia; Egypt; France; the former East Germany; the former West Germany; Hungary; Israel; Italy; Portugal; Romania; the former Soviet Union; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; the United Kingdom; the United States; the former Yugoslavia; and Zimbabwe.18

STOCKPILES AND TRANSFERS

Landmine Monitor estimates that there are more than 250 million antipersonnel mines stored in the arsenals of at least 104 countries. While this is by far the most informed and comprehensive assessment of global stocks, it is important to note that this number should not in any way be considered as definitive, primarily because the size of the three biggest stockpiles (China, Russia and Belarus) are estimates that could be millions, or even tens of millions, higher or lower.

Speaking at the SADC summit meeting in Maputo in 1999, South African President, Thabo Mbeki, told the regional group that the fighting in many countries in the region has once again brought untold pain and suffering, with millions being displaced and many condemned to die. Mbeki stated that "landmines continue to maim our children but new landmines are still being laid on farming land."31

All SADC countries signed the Mine Ban Treaty. SADC became (at least symbolically) a mine-free zone in August 1997. But this was short-lived when membership was expanded in September to include the DRC (formerly Zaïre), which did not sign the treaty.

During the Oslo Diplomatic Conference, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia, upon hearing that the DRC had been admitted as a member of SADC, wrote a joint letter to President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, the SADC Secretariat based in Botswana, President Mugabe of Zimbabwe and President Kabila of the DRC. They urged the DRC to join the Ottawa process to implement national measures to ban landmines and to join the rest of SADC in its quest for a mine-free zone in Southern Africa.

Of the 53 African states recognised by the OAU, 45 have signed the Mine Ban Treaty. Although signatories, Angola, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia, however, have not ratified the Treaty. The Co-ordinator of SADC’s mine action programme, Dr Ndlovu expressed the view that the reason why the DRC has not yet ratified or acceded to the treaty is more a question of domestic priorities and administrative issues than a lack of political will. He did express his concern, however, about the reasons why Zambia and Tanzania have not yet ratified the treaty.32

With respect to Angola, Ndlovu stated that SADC was powerless to prevent the planting of new landmines in Angola because of the war.33 However, it could be argued that, in terms of the SADC treaty, those member states that have not yet joined the Ottawa process, are obliged to do so by virtue of their SADC membership.

Mauritius made history by being one of three countries that both signed and ratified the Mine Ban Treaty at the signing ceremony in Ottawa in December 1997.34 South Africa was the third country internationally and the second in SADC to sign the Mine Ban Treaty, in recognition of its leadership in the Ottawa process. Ndlovu believed that the establishment and implementation of the SADC mine action programme and meetings of the SADC Mine Action Committee would exert some political pressure on those SADC countries that have not yet signed or ratified the Mine Ban Treaty to do so and to implement its provisions. At present, however, SADC does not have the managerial capacity to carry out lobbying activities.35 The SADC Mine Action Committee presently consists of South Africa, Mozambique (chair), Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola, Namibia and Swaziland.

Article VII of the Mine Ban Treaty obliges states to report on their national implementation measures no later than 180 days after the treaty entered into force. To date, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland are the only SADC, and indeed African countries, to have submitted a report as required to the UN Secretary-General.

Zambia was one of the few countries to refer directly to the Mine Ban Treaty during the 12th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in South Africa in September 1998. The vice-president, Lt-Gen Christon S Tembo welcomed the Convention and called for full access to material equipment, technology and financial resources for mine clearance to be provided to affected countries.36 While 74 out of the 113 NAM member states had already signed the treaty and 14 had ratified it, the final declaration of the meeting made no reference to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Only Mauritius and South Africa have ratified the CCW by 12 January 2000 and Mauritius has yet to ratify amended Protocol II.

THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE SADC REGION

Various coalitions of NGOs and concerned people began civil society campaigns to ban landmines in SADC, the oldest being the Mozambique Campaign to Ban Landmines (CMCM). The South African Campaign to Ban Landmines was launched in July 1995, followed in September 1996 by Zambia, and in October the same year, a group of concerned individuals, NGO workers, academics and journalists formed the Zimbabwean Campaign to Ban Landmines. A campaign was established in Angola in November 1996. The Namibian Campaign to Ban Landmines (NCBL) and the Namibian Red Cross are active in the country. Mauritian NGOs have been campaigning in support of the ban since February 1996 when one of its members attended the 4th International NGO Conference on Landmines in Maputo, Mozambique. The Ban Landmines Group (Mauritius) successfully developed an action plan to lobby the government to sign and ratify the treaty.

In other countries of the region, the local Red Cross Society acts as the focal point of anti-landmine activities such as in Swaziland and Lesotho. All these campaigns have met on an annual basis since 1997, to strategise and develop their campaigning skills. All the SADC-based campaigns are affiliated to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).

In May 1998, the Group for Environmental Monitoring (GEM), the South African Campaign to Ban Landmines (SACBL) and the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) held a Regional Meeting on Mine Clearance and Development Perspectives to discuss, plan and make recommendations on mine action programmes and development in Southern Africa. The Johannesburg Declaration confirmed the following key principles:

Mine action is a development issue.
The needs and priorities of affected people must form the basis of any mine action programme.
Co-ordination, communication and co-operation between all relevant actors are essential.
All mine action activities should aim to build capacity in all appropriate sectors.
Civil society has the responsibility to ensure that these principles are respected.

In the final declaration of the Landmine Monitor co-sponsored meeting on Benchmarks to Ottawa Compliance in the SADC, held from 15 to 16 March 1999 in Johannesburg, national campaigns from the SADC region deplored the continued use of antipersonnel landmines in the conflicts in Angola and the DRC. The meeting called on the governments of the DRC and Angola to adhere to the Mine Ban Treaty, and on non-state actors participating in the conflict in the DRC and Angola to commit themselves to refrain from using antipersonnel landmines. The government of the DRC and those SADC countries that have not ratified the treaty (Zambia, Seychelles, Angola and the United Republic of Tanzania) were urged to do so immediately. The participants also called for greater transparency with respect to both the process of destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines, and the number and types of mines retained for the purposes of training.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and national Red Cross societies have hosted a series of workshops and seminars in the Southern African region and in Africa more broadly. The first seminar was organised in conjunction with the OAU in November 1994 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in preparation for the review of the 1980 CCW. A second workshop was held in Harare, Zimbabwe, in March 1995 and a third in Yaounde, Cameroon, in April 1995.

Delegates consisted mainly of government representatives from the ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs. The workshops played a crucial role in creating an awareness of the humanitarian disaster caused by the production and use of antipersonnel landmines. They called on all African states to accede to the CCW in keeping with OAU Resolution CM/Res. 1526 (LX) adopted in Tunisia in June 1994.

In February 1997, the national Red Cross societies of Southern Africa, after a meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, issued a joint declaration calling on all countries of Southern Africa to participate in the Ottawa process and to ban antipersonnel mines from the region.

The 4th International NGO Conference on Landmines in Maputo, Mozambique was a watershed in the Southern African and global campaign to ban antipersonnel landmines. After extensive lobbying and prior to the conference, South Africa was able to announce an immediate and total ban on landmines. At the meeting itself, Mozambique sent out a clear message that it too had banned the use and production of and the trade in antipersonnel landmines. Statements by other SADC member states, while not as strong as those of Mozambique or South Africa, were welcomed as an important step towards a regional ban. These countries included Swaziland, Malawi, Angola and Zimbabwe.

THE SADC-EU LANDMINE INITIATIVE

Dialogue between SADC and the European Union (EU) dates back to the apartheid days when the then Frontline States (FLS) and the European Community (EC) agreed to co-operate in opposing the apartheid regime.37

Since 1994, SADC-EU dialogue has been institutionalised in ministerial conferences, held every two years. The Berlin Initiative was launched during the first Ministerial Conference in September 1994 and set out objectives and areas of co-operation, including political dialogue, regional integration, trade and economic integration, private investment, small and medium-sized enterprises, development co-operation, natural resources and the environment, science and technology, tourism, cultural co-operation, and co-operation in combating international crime.

The declaration was seen as a framework within which the EU and SADC could co-operate and out of which action plans would be formulated. For example, in June 1995, aid resources were allocated for landmine clearance. These action plans were funded from the Regional Initiative Programme (RIP) allocated through the European Development Fund (EDF) in the context of the Lomé Convention.

From 1995 to 1996, SADC and the EU considered antipersonnel mines as a priority area for joint action. During this period, some 17 million ECUs from the Community budget and from EDF sources were devoted to mine clearance activities in the SADC region, mainly in Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The Commission financed demining operations based on requests for assistance from individual SADC states and from specialised UN agencies and NGOs. However, a co-ordinated approach was seen as essential in the longer term. In an April 1996 communication to the Council and the Parliament on Linking Relief Rehabilitation and Development (LRRD), it was stressed that there was a need for a more co-ordinated approach in the fight against antipersonnel mines, which should go hand-in-hand with the development of local capacities to tackle the problem. The conclusions of the July Council meeting confirmed this line of action.

The second SADC-EU Ministerial Conference was held in Windhoek, Namibia, from 14 to 15 October 1996. At the meeting, the EU welcomed the establishment of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security and praised its efforts to support the implementation of the Angola peace accords. In addition, the removal of antipersonnel mines in the SADC region was discussed with Commissioner Pinheiro, stressing the need for regional co-operation in the fight against landmines. In his intervention, Pinheiro argued that, while demining as such would continue to be essentially a national activity in each of the affected countries, there was scope for regional action in Southern Africa, given the extremely expensive nature of demining operations:

"Useful economies of scale could be achieved and maximum use made of expertise available in the region, if certain activities in this field were planned and executed on a regional basis, perhaps under the umbrella of SADC."38

In Pinheiro’s view, five principal methods of a regional intervention to fight antipersonnel mines could be envisaged:

a database on anti-personnel mines, in particular, mapping and marking;
antipersonnel mine awareness activities, such as information programmes and warnings to populations;
training of clearance operators, specialists and instructors;
research in technological innovation and exchanges of technology; and
assistance towards the rehabilitation of antipersonnel mine victims.

Pinheiro argued that, if the countries in the Southern African region were interested in adopting a common strategy, SADC should take the lead in preparing a regional programme. For its part, he announced the Commission’s readiness to assist in the preparation of such a programme, if requested to do so.

In this respect, the SADC-EU Ministerial Conference of 1996 agreed to combat and end the worldwide indiscriminate use and proliferation of antipersonnel landmines, as well as to contribute to find solutions to the problems already caused by these weapons. As a concrete measure, the conference explored ways of improving the effectiveness of landmine clearance operations.

In their fight against antipersonnel landmines, the EC also issued proposals for an integrated and co-ordinated approach to antipersonnel landmine policy in November 1996. They identified the SADC region as the region best suited to test their application. According to the EC:

"[SADC] combines wide-spread mine pollution with a general problem of refugees, returnees and displaced persons ... against a regional background of slowly emerging political and economic stability. Furthermore, this is an area where mine action can be very clearly positioned in the continuum between emergency aid, rehabilitation and long term development."39

The EC recognised that SADC leaders had also recently demonstrated their desire to deal with this common problem on a regional basis.

By 1998, the EU had decided on joint action regarding landmines within the framework of the CFSP, supported several international mine clearance campaigns and contributed 2.07 million ECUs for regional mine clearance operations in Southern Africa from RIP funds or from the EU budget.

SADC'S REGIONAL MINE ACTION CO-ORDINATION OFFICE

The meeting of the SADC Committee of Experts on Demining, held in South Africa in November 1997, approved the recruitment of a technical assistant to plan and manage strategies and action plans for the implementation of the project in conjunction with the SADC secretariat and EU officials. Later that month, the SADC Secretariat and the EC signed a financing agreement of 2 million ECUs in Brussels, which established the SADC/EU Demining Project.

This initiative was carried forward through the preparation of a SADC programme of action and the pooling of expertise from SADC and the EU. It was suggested that, within the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) context, antipersonnel landmine action should be concentrated in the first instance in the SADC region, without excluding the possibility of interventions in the other ACP regions.

In the period 1995/1996, some 50 million ECUs from the EC budget and from the European Development Fund (EDF), were devoted to antipersonnel landmine actions throughout the world. Under EU actions concerning antipersonnel mines, the Commission committed up to 10 million ECUs for specific actions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Laos, Angola and Mozambique. As far as humanitarian aid was concerned, apart from the supply of orthopaedic equipment or other medical support for mine victims, humanitarian demining actions were financed in 1995/96 for a total of 4.8 million ECUs. These actions related primarily to Cambodia and Iraq, but also to a lesser extent to Angola and Afghanistan.

The Austrian presidency of the EU organised the third SADC-EU Ministerial Conference in Vienna from 3 to 4 November 1998. The agenda again included the formulation of an action plan for the clearance of landmines. It should be noted that, shortly after this conference on 28 December 1998, the EU expressed its grave concern about the persisting impasse in the Angolan peace process. It regretted the increased mine-laying activity in Angola — "a country that so far has been a major focus of the EU’s demining efforts in Africa." The EU called on the Angolan government, as a signatory of the Ottawa Convention, and particularly on UNITA, to cease mine-laying activity immediately and to ensure that valid records exist so that these weapons could be removed. The EU also urged the Angolan government and UNITA, in particular, to respect human rights and to co-operate with the UN peacekeeping force and humanitarian organisations in the delivery of emergency relief assistance. It also asked that the safety and freedom of movement of its personnel should be guaranteed. The EU reiterated its willingness to continue to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Angola, the victims of the conflict.40

Since 1998, SADC’s Regional Mine Action Co-ordination Office, located at its headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana, has embarked on an assessment of the best means to maximise regional energy and resources. In May 1998, a co-ordinator was appointed. The co-ordinator reports directly to the SADC Executive Secretary and is also accountable to the chair of the SADC Mine Action Committee (previously called the SADC Demining Steering Committee of Experts/Officials) that was established in August 1999 at the SADC Council of Ministers meeting in Maputo.

The first meeting of the SADC Mine Action Committee took place in October 1999 in Windhoek and the chair is currently Mozambique. South Africa acts as deputy chair.

After its technical meeting in Botswana in 1999, the SADC-EU demining programme co-ordinator, Dr Joao Ndlovu, stated that a regionally based effort, which relied less on foreign aid, was needed to rid Southern Africa of some 15 million unexploded landmines. The technical meeting resolved that demining operations would only be sustainable if local capacity is developed and if efforts to clear the mines are regionally based.41

Ndlovu argued that most SADC countries did not have the technology and expertise to win demining contracts awarded by public tender. In most cases, companies that are awarded the contracts are foreign-based. They rely on local people, but only at a very low level. According to Ndlovu, Southern Africa should rather rely on technology that was consistent with and sustainable in the African reality, such as the use of sniffer dogs and manual demining.42

The SADC-EU landmine initiative is making good progress and the five studies undertaken under this programme have been finalised. Agreed upon pilot projects will start shortly, including the establishment of a database, treatment and rehabilitation of landmine victims, and training.

The SADC Mine Action Programme has been divided into two phases. The first phase (1999) assessed the landmine problem in mine-affected SADC states according to five focus areas and their capabilities to deal with the problem. SADC’s role in assisting landmine affected member states in this regard was also assessed. The second phase of the programme includes the implementation of pilot projects in each focus area. The pilot projects are to be implemented between March and December 2000, after which an independent evaluation of each project will be conducted. From these evaluations, the EU and SADC will consider the merits of a regional mine action approach as opposed to a bilateral one.

With the assistance of funds, the SADC Mine Action Programme recently concluded the five studies on:

the establishment of a SADC landmines safety database;
an assessment of skills training needs;
an inventory of available technology in the region (while this was originally mine clearance technology, it was later changed to mine action technology and involved both the production of an inventory and an examination of innovations);
strengthening the capacity of rehabilitation and treatment centres;
mine awareness; and
international advocacy and technical assistance (this was later discarded and replaced with the appointment of a project co-ordinator who would also look at international advocacy).

At a meeting in Windhoek in October 1999, the SADC Mine Action Committee accepted the findings of the consultants who conducted a number of studies to assess the landmine problem in Southern Africa. The acceptance of the reports in Windhoek came after two earlier meetings in 1999 where the reports were returned to their authors for improvements and modifications. According to the head of the SADC Mine Action Programme, the overall findings of these studies indicate that:

There is a strong need for an holistic approach.
All mine action must be humanitarian.
Landmine actions must be placed within the context of post-conflict peacebuilding.

SADC MINE ACTION DATABASE (MAPPING AND MARKING)

This study concluded that SADC countries affected by landmines lack sufficient resources and expertise for proper landmine information management. The study found that landmine location data in mine affected countries is not well organised and, in some cases, is technically incorrect. Mapping and marking methods are not accurate. The study also found that national databases were open to political manoeuvring and that the location of landmines are often mapped only in areas of interest to donor agencies. The study concluded that mine awareness is another tool in the data collection process.

The study proposed a SADC Mine Action Database System (SMADB). Based in Maputo, Mozambique, the database will have national extensions (or reception/supply stations) in Angola, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. A dissemination station will also be housed in Gaborone, Botswana. The database will serve to disseminate information on the location and impact of landmines to relevant roleplayers such as donors, aid agencies and governments. The database will be critical in identifying where mines are located and in educating people to live with mines, as well as in mobilising resources to clear mines. As such, level 1 and 2 surveys, which are linked to mine awareness programmes, are critical in compiling the database.

Such a project would also assist in strengthening national landmine databases by mobilising and channelling resources to these facilities, and by SADC assisting in capacity-building around database management.

In addition, it is proposed that this project should be implemented initially as a one-year pilot project.

MANAGEMENT TRAINING FOR MINE ACTIONS

The study’s researchers identified a lack of indigenous middle and senior management capacities in affected SADC countries. Areas where training was identified:

treatment and rehabilitation of victims.

The pilot project entails the training of 44 people in the crucial areas identified (24 senior management and 15 GIS and GPS). Additionally, provision is made for training five people in impact evaluation skills, although details about what this might entail are not clear.

TECHNOLOGY INVENTORY AND INNOVATION

Although SADC member countries are among the world leaders in mine action technologies and innovations, the study found no clear direction in the types of technology used. The study found that a wide variety of technologies were being used in Southern Africa, often linked to funding sources.

Capacity also exists to enable all SADC member states to participate in a regional research programme.

The study proposed that member countries have to be selective in the types of technology used in their countries on the basis of reliability, efficiency and appropriateness. Importantly, the study emphasised the primary role of manual operators in mine clearance, with mechanical assets being used in an assisting role.

A technology inventory and innovation pilot project will be conducted in a Southern African minefield, but further details have not yet been finalised. The pilot project would not only evaluate existing Southern African technologies, but also investigate new technologies such as the Zimbabwean manufactured ‘mine hammer’ and the Namibian ‘mine sifter’.

TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION OF LANDMINE VICTIMS

The study found that there is no specific institution in SADC countries that caters for landmine victims and survivors. In addition, there is no specific expertise in the treatment of landmine wounds and/or in treating the social and psychological impact of landmine incidents. The study also found that victim assistance is as "complex as the injuries the victims’ sustain," and that national efforts have been inadequate either due to a lack of resources or specific strategies geared to meet their needs. Because each country’s health system differs, assistance to victims of landmines would also vary.

In general, the research revealed:

inadequate pre-hospital care;
variable hospital care and surgical capacity;
inadequate physical rehabilitation coverage;
lack of social and economic victim reintegration programmes;
impoverished information systems;
overlap and fragmentation among the SADC projects and projects undertaken by international agencies;
lesser capacity in countries most affected; and
deficit with respect to injury surveillance and risk factor analysis.

A pilot project is envisaged to take place in Angola and Mozambique. The Luanda Centre for Rehabilitation and Production of Prosthesis and the Beira Orthopaedic Centre are the two institutions earmarked for the project. The project aims to enhance the centres’ capacities to produce prosthesis, but the exact implementation strategy has not yet been made public.

In addition, a workshop on landmine victim assistance in the SADC region was held in May 2000 in Luanda, Angola, to assess the current status of victim assistance collectively and to develop a concrete SADC programme of action for landmine victims at regional level. Participants included most stakeholders in the various governments and organisations of civil society.

STUDIES ON MINE AWARENESS ACTION IN THE SADC REGION

Mine awareness was found to be an essential tool in the collection of data for landmine databases. Researchers also identified a deficiency in the training and education around mine awareness, as different approaches were used by countries and by the donors involved. The study concluded that mine awareness should be part of the database, particularly the marking and mapping focus area. Moreover, the co-ordinator of the programme noted the need for regional level 1 and 2 surveys to complement mine awareness activities.

The pilot project began early in 2000, in the Sofala, Manica and Zambezia provinces of Mozambique. The data collected from these areas will be sent to Maputo for incorporation into the SADC landmine safety database.

CONCLUSION

Southern African states have committed themselves to a total ban on landmines — individually, in support of UN resolutions, and at the level of the OAU and SADC. However, when examining SADC, a distinction must be made between SADC as a co-ordinating body consisting of sovereign states, and SADC as an organisation of officials based in Botswana. The question is whether individual states have the resource capacity and skills to address the issue. A great deal will depend on individual countries co-operating with the SADC mine action programme on a day-to-day basis.

In his statement at the opening ceremony of the First Meeting of States Parties in Maputo on 3 May 1999, President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique stated that the landmine problem is an overriding issue on the political agenda of Southern Africa. At the Blantyre Summit of Heads of State and Government, SADC adopted a declaration which, inter alia, calls on member states to adopt national policies on the prohibition of anti-personnel landmines, on accession to the Ottawa Convention and on the allocation of resources for demining activities:

"This sub-regional effort must be shared by the rest of the continent and must also be supported by all on-going initiatives. These actions must be complemented and strengthened by the work of the United Nations and a host of Governments and non-governmental organizations involved in this noble mission ... Our success shall, in the future, be judged in terms of fewer and fewer victims and the level of assistance we provide them, and also in terms of the extension of arable land and the degree of normalization of life in affected communities … success of this international instrument depends mainly on the fulfillment of the obligations set out therein: demining, destruction of stockpiles, prohibition of the use and transfer of landmines, assistance and rehabilitation of victims, and the strengthening of international cooperation and assistance. These should be the common objectives of the whole international community."43

These sentiments, the hosting of the First Meeting of States Parties in the region, the appointment of a SADC landmine co-ordinator and the completion of the five area studies are important steps forward for SADC. Once the pilot projects have been completed and evaluated, a more concrete analysis of progress in achieving SADC’s goal of a landmine-free region can be made.

Table 1: Landmine stockpiles in Southern Africa19
SADC countries with antipersonnel mine stockpiles	SADC countries without antipersonnel mine stockpiles
States parties Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe Uncertain: Botswana	State parties Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland Uncertain: Botswana (it refuted allegations contained in African Topics in 1997 that it maintains a stockpile of mines but says that such claims have not been ‘verified’)20
Signatories Angola Uncertain: Tanzania	Signatories Uncertain: Tanzania
Non-signatories Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Table 2: Important SADC resolutions on landmines
1997 SADC Summit	Malawi	SADC admitted two new members, the Seychelles and the Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing the total of SADC members to 14 countries. To show commitment to the creation of a landmine-free Southern Africa, the Summit signed a declaration on the ban of antipersonnel landmines. In response to a call made by the 4th International NGO Conference on Landmines, entitled Towards a Mine Free Southern Africa, which was held in Mozambique in February 1997, the Summit endorsed the declaration envisaging a ‘landmine free’ Southern Africa and calling for the total ban on the use, production, trade and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines in the territories of SADC member countries. All member states were called upon to support the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty in Ottawa, Canada, in December 1997.
1998 SADC Summit	Mauritius	No key resolution was made.
1999 SADC Summit	Mozambique	The Summit decided to establish a SADC mine action programme, and changed the name of the SADC Demining Committee to the SADC Mine Action Committee. It also took note of the progress made in studies of the issue and called for a workshop on victim assistance to be held as soon as possible.