Myanmar_Burma

Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 12 November 2019

Policy

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty.[1]

Myanmar continued to express its support for the Mine Ban Treaty in the reporting period, but did not take any steps to accede to it. Myanmar’s armed forces claim to use antipersonnel landmines on a limited basis. (See Use section below.)

In November 2018, at the Mine Ban Treaty Meeting of States Parties, Myanmar reiterated that the peace process is the “highest priority.” It also stated that it “would like to encourage relevant international organizations and the states parties to further strengthen cooperation with the countries which are not yet ready to accede to the Convention by providing more necessary technical assistance which we believe will facilitate them to join the Convention expeditiously.”[2]

Previously, in June 2018, a Myanmar Ministry of Defense official told the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) that key stakeholders, particularly the military, are reviewing the possibility of Myanmar’s accession to the Mine Ban Treaty.[3] However, in late May 2018, Myanmar’s Minister for International Cooperation, U Kyaw Tin, told the treaty’s special envoy, Prince Mired Raad Zeid Al-Hussein of Jordan, that Myanmar would consider joining the treaty after the successful implementation of a nationwide ceasefire agreement by all parties.[4] At the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 8 November 2018, Myanmar reiterated that relevant officials were reviewing the Mine Ban Treaty to gain a better understanding of it with a view to the country joining in future. Myanmar added that disarmament matters are part of the peace process negotiation and that capacity constraints also prevent Myanmar from joining the convention.[5]

Previously, in June 2017, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense officials told the ICBL that the government was actively considering acceding to the Mine Ban Treaty, but could not provide an estimated timeline for when Myanmar might join.[6]

On 4 April 2019, the International Day for Mine Action, at an event in Naypyitaw, UNICEF encouraged the government to, “accelerate efforts towards the preparation and ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty,” while calling on all parties to conflict to cease laying new landmines. At the same event, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator encouraged the government to enable mine clearance activities to begin in states where conflicts have ceased without waiting for the full conclusion of the peace process.[7]

Myanmar again abstained from voting on UNGA Resolution 73/61 on 5 December 2018, which promotes universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. Since 1997, Myanmar has abstained from voting on this annual UNGA resolution supporting the Mine Ban Treaty.[8]

Myanmar has participated as an observer in several Meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, most recently in November 2018, but it has never attended a Mine Ban Treaty Review Conference.[9] Myanmar participated in intersessional meetings of Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2019.

At the 17th Meeting of States Parties in December 2018, Myanmar’s delegation responded to allegations of landmine use by Myanmar forces.[10] Myanmar stated that it had begun joint-patrols with Bangladesh along their shared border in August 2018, and claimed that since the institution of these patrols, no landmine casualties had been reported.

In April 2019, Myanmar also attended a regional seminar on the landmine ban organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vientiane.[11]

In March 2019, the Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar called on the government of Myanmar and ethnic armed groups to immediately halt mine use, and for the government to join the Mine Ban Treaty.[12]

In December 2018, Mine-Free Myanmar[13] (an initiative launched by the ICBL in 2003 to promote the landmine ban in Myanmar, including by calling for a halt to use of antipersonnel mines) held a press conference in Yangon to launch Landmine Monitor 2018’s country report on Myanmar and distributed 1,200 Burmese-language translations of the report.[14] In December 2018 and June 2019, Landmine Monitor worked with the UN’s Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU) to produce and disseminate infographics outlining the impact of landmines in Myanmar and the impact of landmine casualties on the health system in Myanmar respectively.[15]

Production, stockpiling, and transfer

Myanmar Defense Products Industries known as “Ka Pa Sa” is a state enterprise located at Ngyaung Chay Dauk in western Pegu (Bago) division that produces fragmentation, bounding, and blast antipersonnel mines, including mines with low metal content.[16] In September 2016, government authorities in Myanmar confirmed that landmines were still being produced.[17]

Myanmar has also imported or otherwise received, obtained, and used antipersonnel mines manufactured in China, India, Italy, Russia (and the former Soviet Union), and the United States (US), as well as mines of unknown origin.[18]

There is no publicly available information on the types or quantities of antipersonnel mines in government possession.

Myanmar is not known to have exported antipersonnel mines.[19]

Production, transfer, and stockpiling by non-state armed groups

Various non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in Myanmar have produced improvised antipersonnel mines, including the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), and the Democratic Karen Benevolence Army (DKBA). It is believed most other non-state armed groups have the capacity to manufacture improvised mines.

NSAGs have manufactured blast and fragmentation mines from locally available materials. sometimes referred to as improvised explosive devices or “IEDs.” Victim-activated explosive devices are considered improvised antipersonnel mines prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty.

Some NSAGs have also made Claymore-type directional fragmentation mines and antivehicle mines with antihandling devices.

Armed groups in Myanmar have also acquired mines by removing mines laid by the Tatmadaw (government), seizing Tatmadaw stocks, and, previously, by obtaining them from the clandestine arms market.[20]

Use

Since the publication of its first annual report in 1999, Landmine Monitor has every year documented the use of antipersonnel mines by the Tatmadaw, and by various NSAGs in Myanmar.

New use by government forces

At the treaty’s Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in November 2018, a Myanmar government representative claimed that allegations that it had used landmines on the border with Bangladesh were without merit, and that joint patrols with Bangladeshi border patrols encountered no mines.[21]

However, in July 2019, an official at the Union Minister Office for Defence stated to Landmine Monitor that “since the start of the civilian era, the Tatmadaw no longer use landmines” but qualified that by stating that in some instances landmines are still used. Specifically, he said, “In border areas, if the number of Tatmadaw is small, they will lay mines around where they reside, but only if their numbers are small. Mines are also laid around infrastructure such as microwave towers. If these are near villages we warn them. If there is a Tatmadaw camp in an area controlled by an ethnic armed group where they are sniped at and harassed, they will lay mines around the camp.”[22] Previously, in September 2016, Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Myint Nwe informed the Myanmar parliament that the army continues to use landmines in the internal armed conflict.[23]

Since mid-2018, fighting between the Tatmadaw and the NSAG Arakan Army in Rakhine state has intensified. The Arakan Army has regularly published photographs online of antipersonnel mines produced by the Ka Pa Sa, the state-owned military industries, including MM2, MM5, and MM6 antipersonnel mines among other seized weaponry.[24] While these photographs do not specifically identify new landmine use, they do indicate that antipersonnel mines are part of the weaponry of frontline units.

New landmine casualties in areas of conflict between the Tatamadaw and the Arakan Army not previously known to have landmine contamination also indicate new use, by either the Arakan Army, the Tatmadaw, or both. In January 2018, Indian authorities blamed landmine casualties occurring on its border with Myanmar, in Mizoram state, on either the Tatmadaw or the Arakan Army, both of whom were operating in the area.[25]

Other claims of new mine use by government forces during the reporting period include:

  • In September 2018, Tatmadaw forces allegedly emplaced antipersonnel mines near the villages of Zi Kahtawng and Hka La around Nam San Yang district of Waingmaw township and banned people from going to and from the villages.[26]
  • In August 2018, in Muse district, northern Shan state, the Tatmadaw allegedly warned the population of Kawng Sahti that they had laid mines around Dung Aw and Uraw Hkyet.[27]
  • In July 2018, in Waingmaw township of Kachin state, the KIA alleged that the Tatmadaw was emplacing antipersonnel mines along the Nam Sang river and antivehicle mines on the Zi Kahtawng road.[28]

Frequently it is difficult to ascribe specific responsibility for an incident to a particular combatant group. In August 2019, in northern Shan state, the Tatmadaw engaged in armed conflict with three members of the Northern Alliance—the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Arakan Army—near Maw Harn village in Kutkai township. Subsequently a Maw Harn villager was injured by a landmine. The villagers said there had been no landmines in the area prior to the conflict, but do not know whether government forces, NSAGs, or both were responsible.[29] In September 2019, near Nama Dar village in Paletwa township of Chin state, two villagers were injured by a landmine following armed conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army at that spot. The villagers were unsure which entity laid the mine.[30]

In June 2018, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar reported, following their investigations into mine use allegations in September 2017, that it had “reasonable grounds to conclude that landmines were planted by the Tatmadaw, both in the border regions as well as in northern Rakhine state, as part of the ‘clearance operations’ with the intended or foreseeable effect of injuring or killing Rohingya civilians fleeing to Bangladesh. Further, it seems likely that new antipersonnel mines were placed in border areas as part of a deliberate and planned strategy of dissuading Rohingya refugees from attempting to return to Myanmar.”[31]

In June 2018, the 20th Battalion of the KIA shared photographs with Landmine Monitor that it said showed mines its forces cleared from the villages of Gauri Bum, Man Htu Bum, and Uloi Bai in Danai township. The photographs show around 80 antipersonnel mines, all M14 and MM2 types, with marking indicating Myanmar manufacture. The KIA alleged that Tatmadaw forces laid these mines in April and May, when the government forces left villages after occupying them. The KIA stated that two of their soldiers were injured while clearing the mines.[32]

Landmine Monitor subsequently showed the photographs to an official at the Myanmar Ministry of Defence in June 2018 and requested comment. The official noted that one mine shown in a photograph was an antivehicle mine and said that government forces do not use antivehicle mines against the insurgents as the NSAG do not use vehicles. He said that the antipersonnel mines could be copies of Myanmar-made mines that a NSAG planted, as he said the Myanmar army does not leave landmines behind after an operation.[33]

Previous use by government forces

In September 2017, Landmine Monitor reported that several organizations independently published evidence that showed Myanmar government forces were using antipersonnel landmines along the country’s border with Bangladesh. The mine use began in late August, when Myanmar government forces began a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya population, causing more than 700,000 people to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Landmine Monitor reported the newly mined areas were located between Maungdaw township in Myanmar and Bandarban district in Bangladesh, two major land crossing routes between the countries.[34]

An October 2017 report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights found that “mines were deliberately planted by the Myanmar security forces after 23 August 2017 along the border in an attempt to prevent the Rohingya refugees from returning to Myanmar. Information received by the Team referred to the use of landmines and to incidents of people stepping on mines whilst fleeing, or attempting to return to Myanmar to check on other missing family members from 25 August onwards. They were either killed instantly, or suffered serious injuries. The Cox’s Bazar District Hospital and other medical facilities confirmed the treatment of mine injuries.”[35]

A report issued by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar—established by the Human Rights Council in March 2017—found the Mission had “reasonable grounds to conclude that landmines were planted by the Tatmadaw, both in the border regions as well as within northern Rakhine state, as part of the ‘clearance operations’ with the intended or foreseeable effect of injuring or killing Rohingya civilians fleeing to Bangladesh. Further, it seems likely that new anti-personnel mines were placed in border areas as part of a deliberate and planned strategy of dissuading Rohingya refugees from attempting to return to Myanmar.”[36]

On 21 November 2017, a wild elephant died in Bangladesh’s Bandarban district and Bangladeshi authorities attributed the cause of death to a landmine emplaced along the border.[37] Myanmar military forces used landmines along the Bangladesh border earlier in 2017. In July 2017, three farmers were killed and one injured by a mine allegedly laid by the Myanmar military at Pyanug Paik village in Maungdaw township.[38] In May, Amnesty International reported on Myanmar military forces use of antipersonnel landmines in areas of Kachin and northern Shan states.[39] In April 2017, the Border Guard Forces under the command of the Myanmar Army warned locals from using the road from Meh Th’Waw to Myaing Gyi Ngu because the edges of the road had been mined.[40] In April 2016, four Rohingya from Maungdaw township were injured and one killed by a landmine after they were hired by the Myanmar Army to work on the border fence near border pillar 61. The injured were treated Buthidang Hospital.[41]

Past use of antipersonnel mines along this border has been documented in previous Landmine Monitor reports.[42]

Atrocity/forced labor mine clearance

Landmine Monitor has found evidence that military forces in Myanmar have continued the practice of using civilians as ‘guides’ to walk in front of military units in mine-affected areas, which effectively makes them human mine sweepers. This is a grave violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.[43] Forced labor that compels people to take part in work directly related to military operation is a violation of customary international humanitarian law, including in non-international armed conflicts.

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) reported that Aung Lun, aged 45, from Paletwa township in southern Chin state was killed by a landmine while being forced to guide for Tatmadaw patrol from LIB 544 at the front line with the Arakan Army near the Bangladesh border on 25 February 2019.[44] Two other villagers who were also being forced to guide the Tatmadaw patrol were uninjured, however two soldiers in the patrol were also injured in the blast. CHRO reports that the Tatmadaw offered $1,000 compensation to the family of the victim, but says that the practice of the Tatmadaw taking villagers as guides is increasing in the context of the Paletwa conflict.[45]

In December 2018, in Rakhine state, a Tatmadaw military column seized 11 villagers from Say Taung village in Buthidaung township and forced them to lead the soldiers along the route from his village to Yae Gaung Chaung in Rathedaung township. On a previous day, reportedly many Tatmadaw soldiers became victim of mines laid by the Arakan Army in the area. It is unclear if those mines were command-detonated or victim-activated.[46]

A September 2018 report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar received multiple, detailed accounts of forced laborers being made to walk at the front of the Tatmadaw columns when travelling through the forest in areas of active conflict. Several victims of forced labor said they witnessed other civilians being injured or killed by landmines and told the mission that they were put at the front to act as “human mine sweepers.”[47]

In August 2018, Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion 501 seized four villagers for forced labor as guides from Pang Law village, in Kyaukme township, which has extensive landmine contamination.[48]

In May 2018, the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand reported that villagers from Lai Nawng Khu Kachin state’s Hpakant township fled their homes on 11 April 2018 after a rumor of armed confrontations between Tatmadaw and KIA forces. After spending two nights in the forest, Tatmadaw forces from Light Infantry Battalion 424 found and questioned them. Then the Tatmadaw troops ordered the villagers to walk in front of them in single file. A villager at the front of the column named Po Shan was subsequently wounded by a landmine and villagers saw him carried away, but is not known if he survived.[49]

In May 2018, Sai Htun Nyan, a Shan state Member of Parliament claimed that villagers from Taw Sang in his township of Kyaukme were forced to walk ahead of a Myanmar Army infantry column on 3 May 2018, resulting in landmine casualties. He reportedly stated that people from his constituency had provided him with accounts detailing how they were forced to walk in front of military units through minefields. He said the Myanmar Army employs this practice the most, but NSAGs have also done so.[50] In November 2017, according to testimony collected by the Karen Human Rights Group, a resident of T’Kwee Klah village in Karen state’s Hlaingbwe township served as a porter for the Border Guard Forces (BGF) for almost two months and was made to walk in front of BGF soldiers through mined areas.[51]

In July 2019, an official at the Union Minister Office for Defence stated to the Landmine Monitor that claims of forced labour by the Tatmadaw in mined areas are fabricated. He noted that the Tatmadaw has firm policies against forced labour in place. He stated that insurgents will hide their weapons and attempt to blend in with the local population, and if caught will say they are being taken for forced labour. He dismissed allegations that military units take local people as guides, stating that each military unit has GPS and knows the terrain better than locals.[52]

Use by non-state armed groups

Many NSAGs have used antipersonnel mines in Myanmar since 1999. In late 2018 and early 2019, there were reports of new use by the KIA, Arakan Army, DKBA, KNDO, and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).[53] Frequently it is difficult to ascribe specific responsibility for an incident to a particular combatant group. For example, in August 2019, in northern Shan state, the Tatmadaw engaged in armed conflict with three members of the Northern Alliance—the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Arakan Army—near Maw Harn village in Kutkai township. Subsequently a resident of Maw Harn village was injured by a landmine. The villagers said there had been no landmines in the area prior to the conflict, but do not know which group was responsible.[54]

In February and March 2019, in Manli village in Namtu township of Shan state, several villagers were killed and injured by mines when returning to their agricultural fields after fighting between the Shan State Army-South and an alliance of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Shan State Army-North.[55] In April 2019, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services accused the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) of laying the mines which caused the injuries.[56] In September 2019, near Nama Dar village in Paletwa township of Chin state, two villagers were injured by a landmine following fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army. The villagers were unsure which group laid the mine.[57] In February 2019, near Nam Maw Lon village, in Hsipaw township, in northern Shan state, a villager died and two were injured after stepping on a mine in an area which had seen recent fighting between the Restoration Council Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA) and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA). Both groups blamed the other side for the incident.[58]

Most allegations of new use were reported in Kayin, Rakhine, and Shan states:

  • In July 2019, in Hpapun township of Kayin state, the KNDO laid mines in the Bu Ah Der village tract reportedly to defend against attack by the Tatmadaw.[59]
  • In May 2019, in Hlaingbwe township of Kayin state, a DKBA officer from Meh Pru village tract ordered his soldiers to plant more landmines in seven nearby mountainous villages to protect their area.[60]
  • In December 2018, the Pa-O National Liberation Organization of southern Shan state stated that the RCSS/SSA had frequently laid landmines in their area.[61]
  • In August–September 2018, in Hpapun township of Kayin state, KNLA Battalion #102, Company #4 informed villagers that they would lay mines near former Tatmadaw military camps, and that they should not go to those areas. Subsequently two Tatmadaw soldiers reportedly were injured by these mines.[62]
  • In November 2018, two civilians were injured in a mine incident that the KIA blamed on use by the TNLA.[63]
  • In October 2018, New Mon State Party claimed that the KNU had laid landmines in a disputed area in Yebyu township in Thanintharyi region.[64] The KNU denied the allegation.[65]
  • In August 2018, near Kammamaung in Hlaingbwe township of Kayin state a KNLA soldier was injured by a mine he had laid.[66]

In 2011, the government of Myanmar announced its intent to conclude peace agreements with NSAGs operating in the country. On 15 October 2015, eight ethnic armed groups signed a nationwide ceasefire accord with the government, committing to “end planting of mines” and “cooperate on the process of clearing all landmines.” All the groups—two factions of the Karen National Union, the Restoration Council for Shan State, the Arakan Liberation Party, the Pao National Liberation Organization, the All Burma Students Democratic Front, the Chin National Front, and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army—had previously used landmines.[67] In February 2018, the New Mon State Party and the Lahu Democratic Union joined the nationwide ceasefire accord, bringing the number of ethnic armed groups in the agreement to 10.[68] In April 2019, Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Soe Aung claimed that the prevalence of mines was a consequence of NSAGs that had failed to join the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.[69]

In the past, some armed groups and former armed groups unilaterally renounced antipersonnel mine use by signing the Deed of Commitment administered by the Swiss NGO Geneva Call.[70] The Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) signed the Deed of Commitment in 2007 and its armed wing, the TNLA, has previously promised to refrain from mine use.[71] In June 2017, the TNLA denied allegations of new mine use and affirmed that the TNLA has not used landmines since signing the Deed of Commitment.[72]

Responses to new landmine use

In the reporting period, various Myanmar government officials either admitted or denied that government forces are using antipersonnel landmines. At the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in November 2018 a Myanmar government representative claimed that allegations that it had used landmines on the border with Bangladesh were without merit, and that joint patrols with Bangladeshi border patrols encountered no mines.[73] In July 2019, an official at the Union Minister Office for Defence stated to the Landmine Monitor that “since the start of the civilian era, the Tatmadaw no longer use landmines” but qualified that by stating that in some instances landmines may still be used. Specifically, he said, “In border areas, if the number of Tatmadaw is small, they will lay mines around where they reside, but only if their numbers are small. Mines are also laid around infrastructure such as microwave towers. If these are near villages we warn them. If there is a Tatmadaw camp in an area controlled by an ethnic armed group where they are sniped at and harassed, they will lay mines around the camp.”[74] The previous year, Myanmar had stated that “the “Myanmar Armed Forces is no longer using the landmines while safeguarding the life and property of its people in internal conflicts.”[75] However, in June 2018, an official at the Union Minister Office for Defence told Landmine Monitor that the Myanmar armed forces are still using antipersonnel landmines, but said the use is strictly for “self-defense” purposes and always “well-mapped.”[76]

Myanmar’s NSAGs tend to blame government forces or each other for using antipersonnel mines.[77] However, the KIA defended its production and use of improvised landmines in the past year. Information Chief Colonel Naw Bu said in a January 2018 media interview that the KIA use antipersonnel mines “on paths approaching our frontline camps and around our headquarters.” He justified the use, stating, “We only plant mines in the conflict area and do not plant mines in places where civilians move.”[78]

The use of landmines in Myanmar has been widely condemned.

In June 2019, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict called attention to the “killing and maiming of children, notably caused by landmines, by all parties” in Myanmar.[79]

On 1 March 2019, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet condemned the use of antipersonnel landmines in Myanmar by both the government armed forces and by non-state armed groups.[80]

At the Human Rights Council on 11 September 2017, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein stated that he was “appalled by reports that the Myanmar authorities have now begun to lay landmines along the border with Bangladesh.” In March 2017, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar called on all parties to “immediately cease using landmines.” In August 2018, the UN Human Rights Council reported on how the presence of landmines has impeded the safe return of displaced persons in Kachin and Shan states.[81]

Bangladesh, a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty, has condemned the use of antipersonnel landmines by Myanmar.[82] At the UN on 21 September 2017, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, stated, “We are horrified to see that the Myanmar authorities are laying landmines along their stretch of the border to prevent the Rohingya from returning to Myanmar.”[83] There is no evidence to indicate that Bangladesh has laid antipersonnel mines on its side of the border. During a 2 October 2017 high-level meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar authorities, Bangladesh’s Home Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, reportedly asked Myanmar’s military to stop laying landmines along the border with Bangladesh. She told media that, “I raised the issue of planting land mines along the zero line. I clearly told the honorable minister that, according to international law, Myanmar cannot plant land mines along the border. This is illegal.”[84]

The ICBL has strongly condemned the new use of landmines in Myanmar, stating, “There can be no justification for using such indiscriminate weapons, which are harming and killing civilians fleeing their homes.”

Calls to end mine use and clear landmines have become more common from within Myanmar in recent years. In September 2019, Jivita, a local NGO providing assistance to mine and other war injured in Kyakme township of Shan state, requested the Tatmadaw and all ethnic armed organizations stop using landmines.[85] In April 2018, Shan state MP, Daw Nan Khin Htar Yee, said she was saddened that Myanmar has not signed the Mine Ban Treaty and pledged to encourage the government to sign.[86] At the Second Union Peace Conference in May 2017, the head of the Union-level Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee urged the public to call on local officials to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance.[87] In January 2017, the Lower House Member of Parliament for Manton township issued a statement condemning the use of landmines in armed conflict between the Myanmar Army and NSAGs in Shan state and called on all parties to stop using landmines.[88]



[1] The military junta ruling the country changed the name from Burma to Myanmar. Many ethnic groups in the country, and a number of states, still refer to the country as Burma. Internal state and division names are given in their common form, or with the ruling Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) designation in parentheses, for example, Karenni (Kayah) state. Since 2009, the Monitor has used township names according to the UN Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU). For more information see the MINU website.

[2] Statement of Myanmar, Mine Ban Treaty Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 30 November 2018.

[3] ICBL/Landmine Monitor meeting with U Min Htike Hein, Assistant Secretary, Union Minister Office for Defence, Ministry of Defence, Naypyitaw, 29 June 2018.

[5] Myanmar, Explanation of Vote on Resolution L.53/rev.1, 73rd Session, UNGA First Committee, Audio Record of 31st Meeting (at 19 mins.), New York, 8 November 2018. See also Myanmar, Explanation of Vote on Resolution L.40, 72nd Session, UNGA First Committee, New York, 31 October 2017, UNGA, Official Records, A/C.1/72/PV26, pp. 18–19/29.

[6] Landmine Monitor meetings with Kyaw Moe Tun, Director of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Naypyitaw, 26 June 2017; and with Lt. Col. Myo Win Aung, Judge Advocate General’s office, Ministry of Defense, Naypyitaw, 26 June 2017. In July 2012, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, U Wunna Maung Lwin, stated that Myanmar was considering acceding to the Mine Ban Treaty. Press Release, “Myanmar seriously considering landmine treaty as part of its state reforms,” Mine Ban Treaty Implementation Support Unit (ISU), 12 July 2012.

[8] In 1996, Myanmar voted in favour of a UNGA resolution calling on governments to pursue an international agreement banning antipersonnel landmines.

[9] Myanmar previously attended Mine Ban Treaty Meetings of States Parties in 2003, 2006, and 2011–2013. It did not participate in the Mine Ban Treaty Review Conferences held 2004, 2009, or 2014.

[10] Statement of Myanmar, Mine Ban Treaty Seventeenth Meeting of State Parties, Geneva, 26 November 2018.

[11]Experts Discuss Landmine-related Risks At A Regional Seminar,” Lao News Agency, 2 May 2019. The seminar covered landmines, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war.

[12] Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar,” A/HRC/40/68, 5 March 2019. Recommendation: “Immediately stop laying landmines; ratify the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction; clear mines and unexploded ordnance; mark and fence mine areas; and carry out systematic mine-risk and education activities.”

[13] The ICBL initiative was initially known as “Halt Mine Use in Burma/Myanmar.” See, Mine-Free Myanmar website.

[14]2017 Myanmar/Burma Country Report released at Yangon Press Conference,” 11 January 2018. Audio recording of the press conference.

[15]Townships with Known Landmine Contamination (2018) and Casualties in Myanmar (as of Dec 2017),” United Nations Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), 30 May 2018. Infographic provides a 11-year overview of data from Landmine Monitor Reports (2007–2017). The infographic was also available in Burmese language for the first time. MIMU reported to the Landmine Monitor that the landmine infographic has been one of their most requested products.

[16] Myanmar produces five types of antipersonnel landmines. The MM1, which is modeled on the Chinese Type-59 stake-mounted fragmentation mine; the MM2, which is similar to the Chinese Type-58 blast mine; the MM3, which is a bounding mine, the MM5 which is a Claymore-type directional fragmentation mine; and the MM6, which is a copy of the US M14 plastic mine. It also produces the MM4, which is an antivehicle mine.

[17] Htoo Thant, “Tatmadaw insists landmine use kept within reasonable minimum,” Myanmar Times, 13 September 2016.

[18] See, Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 938. The mines include: Chinese Types-58, -59, -69, -72A; Soviet POMZ-2, POMZ-2M, PMN-1, PMD-6; US M14, M16A1, M18; and Indian/British LTM-73, LTM-76.

[19] In 1999, Myanmar’s representative to the UN stated that the country was supportive of banning exports of antipersonnel mines, however, no formal moratorium or export ban has been proclaimed. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 469.

[20] Landmine Monitor Report 2009 identified the presence of US-made M26 bounding antipersonnel mines in Myanmar but could not identify the source or the user. In 2010, a confidential source indicated that the KNLA had received many M26 mines from the Royal Thai Army in the past, before Thailand joined the Mine Ban Treaty. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2009, p. 1013.

[21] Statement of Myanmar, Mine Ban Treaty Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 30 November 2018. "...the security forces of Myanmar and Bangladesh have been conducting coordinated patrol along the border in the west of Myanmar. Coordinated patrol has been made for 19 times so far since August of this year. No incidents of landmines casualty have been reported in the area. Such accusation without concrete evidence will not help facilitate countries to join the convention.”

[22] Landmine Monitor meeting with U Min Htike Hein, Assistant Secretary, Union Minister Office for Defence, Ministry of Defence, in Naypyitaw, 5 July 2019.

[23]Pyithu Hluttaw hears answers to questions by relevant ministries,” Global New Light of Myanmar, 13 September 2016. The deputy minister stated that the Tatmadaw used landmines to protect state-owned factories, bridges and power towers, and its outposts in military operations. The deputy minister also stated that landmines were removed when the military abandoned outposts, or warning signs were placed where landmines were planted and soldiers were not present.

[24] See, Mine Free Myanmar, “Allegedly Seized Mines Displayed by Arakan Army,” 18 April 2019.

[25]Man hurt in Mizoram IED blast,” The Telegraph, 18 January 2018.

[26] “FBR: Clash Summary: Chaos Reigned in Northern Shan State in September,” Free Burma Rangers, 15 October 2018.

[27] “FBR: Clash Summary: Battles Continue in Northern Shan State Throughout August,” Free Burma Rangers, 12 September 2018.

[28] “FBR: Burma Army Tortures and Kills Six Female Medics, Continues Campaign Against Civilians,” Free Burma Rangers, 26 July 2018.

[29]Kutkai Villager ‘Seriously Injured’ by Landmine,” Burma News International, 20 September 2019.

[30] Thein Zaw, “Two villagers injured by a landmine explosion in Paletwa,” Narinjara News, 9 September 2019.

[31] Human Rights Council, “Report of the detailed findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar,” A/HRC/39/CRP.2, 17 September 2018, p. 288.

[32] Thein Zaw, “Two villagers injured by a landmine explosion in Paletwa,” Narinjara News, 9 September 2019.

[33] Human Rights Council, “Report of the detailed findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar,” A/HRC/39/CRP.2, 17 September 2018, p. 288.

[34] According to Landmine Monitor, local researchers interviewing and assisting displaced Rohingya civilians as they crossed into Bangladesh on 28 August saw an army truck arrive on the Myanmar side of the border from which they witnessed Myanmar government soldiers unloading three crates. They said the soldiers removed antipersonnel landmines from the crates and placed them in the ground, later returning at night to place more mines. According to these researchers, the mines were emplaced within Taung Pyo Let Yar village tract of Maungdaw township, adjacent to border pillar No. 31 in Bangladesh, an area that demarcates the beginning of the land border between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Email and phone interviews with researchers working with an NGO who wished to remain anonymous, 17 September 2017.

[35] According to the report, “The Team was informed that until 23 August 2017, the Myanmar and Bangladesh border guards conducted joint patrols along the international border between Bangladesh and Myanmar and that it was therefore highly unlikely that mines were planted before 23 August due to the likelihood of real danger for army personnel of both sides that they would step onto such an explosive device.” OHCHR, “Mission report of OHCHR rapid response mission to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, 13–24 September 2017,” 11 October 2017. pp. 9–10.

[36] Human Rights Council, “Report of the detailed findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar,” A/HRC/39/CRP.2, 17 September 2018, p. 288.

[37] Anwar Hussain, “Myanmar army’s landmines put elephants at risk,” Dhaka Tribune, 26 November 2017.

[38]Rohingya farmers victims of fatal injury in land mine explosion in Northern Maungdaw,” Arakan TV, 15 July 2017. Photographic evidence included with reports, however independent verification was not possible. See also, Thar Shwe Oo, “Landmine kills three in Maungdaw,” Eleven Myanmar, 16 July 2017; and Moe Myint, “Landmine Explosion Kills Teenager, Two Men in Rakhine,” the Irrawaddy, 16 July 2017.

[40] Unpublished information provided to the Landmine Monitor by the Karen Human Rights Group, 6 September 2017.

[41]Border Landmine Kills and Injures Rohingyas,” Kaladan Press, 19 April 2016.

[42] A massive outflow of Rohingya people, nearly a quarter of a million, from Northern Rakhine State (NRS) occurred in 1991 and 1992. Following widespread condemnation of Burma at that time by the Muslim world, Myanmar’s armed forces emplaced a significant minefield along the entire length of its border with Bangladesh. Bangladesh officials and humanitarian workers stated at the time that Burma’s boundary minefield was laid for the purpose of deterring further flight out of the country by the Rohingya, and also to harass cross border movement by several Rohingya and Rakhine armed groups active at that time. See, Landmine Monitor 2000, “Burma Country Report.” In the early 1990s, several armed groups existed in that border area, including the Rohingya Solidarity Organization, the Arakan Rohingya National Organization, the Arakan Army, and the Arakan Liberation Army. Further mine laying occurred in later years. See, Landmine Monitor, “Country Profile: Myanmar/Burma: Ban Policy profiles,” for 2013, 2014, and 2015.

[43] Over the past two decades, Landmine Monitor has reported disturbing evidence that Myanmar military have forced civilians to clear antipersonnel mines without training or protective equipment or forced civilians to guide or carry equipment for the military in mined areas. Such activities constitute a threat to the right to life, liberty, and security of person. During Myanmar’s first Universal Periodic Review of its human rights record, in 2011, the ICBL provided a submission detailing the use of human minesweepers.

[44]Civilian Injured by Landmine on Burma-India Border,” Burma News International, 19 March 2019.

[45] Email to Landmine Monitor from Sang Hnin Lian, Chin Human Rights Organization, 17 April 2019.

[46] Moe Myint, “Military Using Villagers as Human Shields in N. Rakhine Battles,” the Irrawaddy, 28 December 2018.

[47] Human Rights Council, “Report of the detailed findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar,” A/HRC/39/CRP.2, 17 September 2018.

[49] Kachin Women’s Association Thailand, “Burma Army commits war crimes against Kachin IDPs: blocking access to refuge, using as human shields and minesweepers, indiscriminate shelling, looting,” 14 May 2018; and subsequent clarification emails from San Htoi, Kachin Women’s Association Thailand, 2 July 2018.

[51] Karen Human Rights Group, “Interview #17-131-A4-I1,” published 8 June 2018. There is no official governmental document that defines a Border Guard Force (BGF), however they have a military structure parallel to the Myanmar Army. The BGF commander is from an ethnic armed group, as are many of the rank and file. BGF are supposedly under the command of the Myanmar army, however they sometimes appear to carry out independent activities.

[52] Landmine Monitor meeting with U Min Htike Hein, Ministry of Defence, in Naypyitaw, 5 July 2019.

[53] There are also allegations of use by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA) and the Restoration Council Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA) in their operations against Myanmar armed forces during the reporting period.

[54]Kutkai Villager ‘Seriously Injured’ by Landmine,” Burma News International, 20 September 2019.

[55] Myat Moe Thu, “Three killed, four injured by landmine in Shan State,” Myanmar Times, 1 April 2019.

[56] Min Naing Soe. “Army announces TNLA and SSPP planned mine attack in Manli Village,” Eleven Myanmar, 1 April 2019.

[57] Thein Zaw, “Two villagers injured by a landmine explosion in Paletwa,” Narinjara News, 9 September 2019.

[58]One Killed, Two Injured in Hsipaw Landmine Blast,” Burma News International, 20 February 2019.

[59] “KHRG Submission to Landmine Monitor,” September 2019, unpublished.

[60] Ibid.

[61] Nyein Nyein, “Shan Armed Group Kills At Least Four Ethnic Pa-O in Shooting,” the Irrawaddy, 12 December 2018.

[62] “KHRG Submission to Landmine Monitor,” September 2019, unpublished.

[63] “FBR: Clash Summary: Steady Fighting in November in Northern Burma,” Free Burma Rangers, 15 December 2018.

[65]Three More Landmines Explode in Tanintharyi,” Burma News International, 9 January 2019.

[67]Peace Deal Signed,” Global New Light of Myanmar, 16 October 2015, p. 1. Each of the political organizations that signed the ceasefire agreement has an armed wing. The armed wing of the KNU factions is the KNLA, the RCSS is the political organization of the Shan State Army South, the ALP has its Arakan Liberation Army, the PNLO has its Pao National Liberation Army, and the CNF has the Chin National Army. The other two groups have the same name for their armed organizations.

[68]Two ethnic armed groups sign ceasefire agreement in Nay Pyi Taw,” Global New Light of Myanmar, 14 February 2018.

[69] Lei Lei, “Landmines Strike 10 Civilians in a Single Town in Myanmar’s Shan State,” the Irrawaddy, 27 September 2019.

[70] In the past, a few armed groups and former-armed groups, unilaterally renounced the use of antipersonnel mines by signing the Deed of Commitment administered by the Swiss NGO, Geneva Call. The Chin National Front/Chin National Army renounced use in July 2006. The Arakan Rohingya National Organization and the National United Party of Arakan, both now militarily defunct, renounced use in October 2003. The Lahu Democratic Front (LDF), Palaung State Liberation Army, and PPLO/Pa’O Peoples Liberation Army (PPLA) renounced use in April 2007. In a June 2010 report, Geneva Call noted that LDF and the PPLA had disbanded.

[71] Since 2014, Geneva Call has been pursuing inquiries about allegations of mine use made against the TNLA. See, Geneva Call, “Burma/Myanmar: Geneva Call urges an end to mine use in northern Shan State,” 14 July 2016.

[73] Statement of Myanmar, Mine Ban Treaty Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 30 November 2018. "...the security forces of Myanmar and Bangladesh have been conducting coordinated patrol along the border in the west of Myanmar. Coordinated patrol has been made for 19 times so far since August of this year. No incidents of landmines casualty have been reported in the area. Such accusation without concrete evidence will not help facilitate countries to join the convention.”

[74] Landmine Monitor meeting with U Min Htike Hein, Ministry of Defence, in Naypyitaw, 5 July 2019.

[75] Statement of Myanmar, Mine Ban Treaty Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties, Vienna, 21 December 2017.

[76] Landmine Monitor meeting with U Min Htike Hein, Ministry of Defence, in Naypyitaw, 29 June 2018.

[77] Lawi Weng, “3 Civilians Reportedly Killed by Landmines in Shan State in June,” the Irrawaddy, 8 July 2018.

[78] Nang Lwin Hnin Pwint, “Mined areas increase to 11 Townships-original in Burmese language,” the Irrawaddy, 13 January 2018.

[79] UN, “Children and armed conflict Report of the Secretary-General,” A/73/907–S/2019/509, 20 June 2019.

[80] OHCHR, “Mine Ban Convention – 20 years of protection. Celebrating 20 years since the Mine Ban Treaty entered into force,” Keynote Speaker: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, 1 March 2019, Palais des Nations, Geneva.

[85] Lei Lei, “Landmines Strike 10 Civilians in a Single Town in Myanmar’s Shan State,” the Irrawaddy, 25 September 2019.

[86] Pyae Thet Phyo, “Government to go slow on EU landmine aid offer,” Myanmar Times, 6 April 2018.

[87] Saw Nyunt Thaung, “Panglong fails to address need for landmine clearance agreements,” Karen News, 30 May 2017.

[88] Nyein Zaw Lin, “MP denounces collateral damage and landmine danger,” Myanmar Times, 25 January 2017.