In April 1991, the
Republic of Georgia declared itself independent of the Soviet Union. In 1992,
the long standing dispute over the political status of Abkhazia resulted in the
outbreak of war. At the end of September 1993, Georgian armed forces withdrew
from the territory of Abkhazia. Additional fighting took place in early 1994.
After a cease-fire agreement in May 1994, the Commonwealth of Independent States
Collective Peacekeeping Forces (CIS CPKF) were introduced into the region. In
November 1994, the Supreme Council of Abkhazia adopted a new constitution and
declared Abkhazia to be a sovereign republic, which can be bound by
international law. No international diplomatic recognition has been extended to
Abkhazia. Peace negotiations are being conducted by the United Nations and
facilitated by the Russian Federation, with the representatives of the USA,
Britain, France, Germany and Russia, acting as Friends of the UN Secretary
General. No progress has been made on agreement on the political status of
Abkhazia.
As a result of the fighting, and continued skirmishes, Georgia and Abkhazia
are mine-affected (see also the special report on Abkhazia).
Mine Ban Policy
Georgia has not signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.
Nevertheless, the Georgian government has proclaimed its support for a mine ban.
At the UN General Assembly in September 1996, President Shevardnadze said:
“I, as the President of Georgia, declare that Georgia takes the obligation
never to produce, use or import antipersonnel
mines.”[1]
Georgian authorities have stated that they cannot sign the Mine Ban Treaty
for two reasons: first, antipersonnel mines have been used in the region of
Abkhazia and Georgia cannot fulfill its treaty obligations to conduct mine
clearance until Abkhazia is reintegrated with Georgia; second, Georgia lacks
funds, proper equipment, and trained deminers to conduct the mine clearance
operations.[2]
Despite this reluctance, during a visit to Georgia in February 1999 by ICBL
Ambassador and Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, President Shevardnadze stated his
intention to sign the ban treaty and indicated that the Georgian Council of
National Security was discussing the
issue.[3]
Williams reported that while political officials expressed support for the
treaty, the minister of defense remained opposed, and insisted on the right of
the military to retain and use antipersonnel
mines.[4]
Georgia attended the treaty preparatory meetings of the Ottawa process,
although it did not endorse the pro-ban treaty Brussels Declaration in June
1997. It attended the Oslo treaty negotiations in September and the treaty
signing conference in Ottawa in December 1997 only as an observer. During the
signing ceremony, the Ambassador of Georgia, Tedo Japaridze, said:
“Georgia believes that the human and social costs of antipersonnel mines
far outweigh their military significance.... Georgia...will in every way
support and promote the ban on the use of the mines.... Therefore, Georgia
supports the Ottawa Process and its goal--the prohibition of use, stockpiling,
production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and their destruction...[but]
without financial and necessary technological assistance from other countries
Georgia will not be able to fulfil its obligations under the Convention
(particularly to destroy antipersonnel mines during 4 years).... Georgia
believes that the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva should be the main forum
for negotiating a global
ban.”[5] Georgia, however,
is not a member of the CD.
Georgia is a state party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapon and
its Protocol II on landmines, but it has not ratified the 1996 amended Protocol
II.
Production, Transfer, and Stockpiling
Georgian authorities state that Georgia is not a
producer of antipersonnel landmines or mine
components.[6] Georgia’s
status as a possible past producer of landmine components for the Soviet Union
is unclear.
Georgia is not a landmine exporter. The Minister of Defense of Georgia has
stated that Georgia has not imported any AP mines since independence.
Georgia inherited what is believed to be a small stockpile of antipersonnel
mines from the former Soviet Union, though the exact size and composition is not
known.[7] Georgia has not
destroyed any of its landmine
stockpiles.[8] In addition,
there are antipersonnel mines stockpiled at military bases under Russian
control. The most commonly found types of mines in Georgia and Abkhazia are
MON-50, MON-100, MON-200, MON-90, OZM-72, PMN, PMN-2 (former Soviet Union); and
the TS-50 (Italy).[9]
Use
Both Georgian and Abkhazian forces have laid tens
of thousands of mines. Georgian military units laid the majority of landmines
in Ochamchira and Sukhumi districts, while the Abkhaz forces are reported to
have laid the majority of mines in the Gali
district.[10] Though most mines
were used during the intense fighting in 1992-93, there are still allegations of
ongoing use by both sides. There are numerous reports of groups from Georgia
infiltrating into Abkhazia and laying antipersonnel mines. (See Landmine Monitor
report on Abkhazia). There are also allegations of Abkhazian military groups or
partisans laying mines in
Georgia.[11]
Russian soldiers laid mines around their military bases in Georgia, some of
which have been transferred to the Georgians, some of which are still under
Russian control. According to the Georgian Ministry of Defense, the Russians
have not cleared any of the mines or provided any precise maps or registries of
mined areas.[12]
Residents of the village of Nikozi told the ICBL Georgian Committee that
during the Georgian–South Ossetian conflict mines were used, but that
there have been no casualties since the end of the fighting.
Civilians use antipersonnel landmines for fishing, uprooting of trees, and
other purposes. According to General Gurgenidze, the Head of Georgian
Peacekeeping Troops in the Tskhinvali Region, in 1992 after fighting broke out
between Georgia and Abkhazia, the Sappers Regiment in Tskhinvali left its post
and approximately 3,000 mines were abandoned. According to the General, the
local community has used those
mines.[13] This has led to
several mine accidents.
Landmine Problem
According to the United Nations, there are
approximately 150,000 landmines in Georgia and Abkhazia, the majority of which
are near the Inguri river separating Georgia and
Abkhazia.[14] The U.N.
Development program has estimated that there are 15,000 mines just in two
heavily mined areas along the Inguri River and the Gali
canal.[15] The mine problem is
much more severe in Abkhazia than in any other region in Georgia. Outside of
Abkhazia, mines pose dangers to civilians in Georgia mainly in areas near the
border with Abkhazia and near military bases which have been mined.
Quite often the water level rises along the Inguri river because of floods
and mines are washed out of minefields, posing a hazard to local
civilians.[16]
Across from a former Soviet military base in Osiauri (near Khashuri, in
eastern Georgia), seventy-six hectares of forest were mined, as well as the
perimeter of the base.[17] The
former head of the Sappers Department in the Ministry of Defense of Georgia
Colonel Kalandadze said that when the base was transferred to Georgia, the
Russians left behind incorrect maps because Georgian sappers during the
clearance operation removed nearly 1,000 mines instead of 361, as had been
indicated on the map.[18]
During her visit to Georgia, ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams visited the site
of a Russian base with a still-mined perimeter. She reported that “the
old and rusty barbed-wire fence was broken down and clearly anyone could walk
off the main, heavily traveled road to the river not far from the road. The one
sign regarding landmines in evidence was old, rusted and hard to
read.”[19]
Mine Clearance
Georgia has no national programs for humanitarian
clearance, mine awareness programs, or survivor assistance. The United States
committed $39,000 for a landmine
survey.[20] By the order of the
President of Georgia, responsibility for mine clearance is entrusted to the
Ministry of Defense for the zone of military actions and territory of military
bases, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for populated areas, motor and
railroads, and to the State Department for frontier areas. Effective clearance
is complicated by the lack of coordination between the related institutions.
Since 1994, CIS peacekeepers have conducted demining operations in the security
zone along the Inguri River. The non-governmental organization HALO Trust is
conducting humanitarian mine clearance in
Abkhazia.[21] The alleged new
use of landmines has delayed implementation of mine action programs and mine
clearance in contaminated areas.
Mine Awareness
The ICBL Georgian Committee plans to undertake a
mine awareness campaign, including mapping mined areas, organizing lectures and
seminars for teachers in high-risk regions, and publication of a mine awareness
brochure for people in Georgia and Abkhazia. The ICBL Georgian Committee is
cooperating with Abkhazian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on these
issues.
Landmine Casualties
There has recently been a reduction in the number
of people killed or injured by antipersonnel landmines in Georgia because a
large number of people have left the mined territories. However, after
displaced persons return to their homes, it is anticipated that there will be an
increased number of mine casualties.
According to information from the Head of Science and Technical Research
Department of Georgian Army General Staff, Colonel Tavadze, about 70% of
casualties during the war were landmine
victims.[22]
Landmine Survivor Assistance
Hospitals throughout Georgia, including in
Abkhazia, routinely run into shortages of basic medical supplies. Lack of
surgical equipment and the facilities to store blood prevent adequate care for
landmine survivors. No special rehabilitation assistance is provided to
landmine victims in Georgia. In general, in Georgia there are medical
rehabilitation centers for survivors, but expensive surgical and rehabilitation
measures for survivors are inaccessible to most people. The International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) runs orthopedic projects for the war disabled,
many of whom are landmine victims. It has centers in Tbilisi and Gagra
(Abkhazia) where an average of thirty-one patients in Tbilisi and six patients
in Gagra are fitted with prostheses or orthoses per
month.[23] In 1997, the ICRC
manufactured 669 prostheses in the Tbilisi and Gagra workshops, 184 of which
were for mine victims.[24]
There are no national programs to provide psychological counseling for landmine
victims.
[1] Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Georgia, “Georgia and Problem of Anti-Personnel Mines,”
June 1998.
[2] Address of H.E. Tedo
Japaridze, Ambassador of Georgia at the Signing Ceremony of the Convention on
the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and
on Their Destruction, Ottawa, December 1997.
[3] “Georgian Leader
Supports Joining Convention on Banning Landmines,” Kavkasia-Press news
agency, Tbilisi, 9 February 1999, reported by BBC Worldwide Monitoring.
[4] Jody Williams, report to
ICBL on visit to Georgia, email dated 22 February 1999.
[5] Address of H.E. Tedo
Japaridze, Ambassador of Georgia at the Signing Ceremony of the Convention on
the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and
on Their Destruction, Ottawa, December 1997.
[6] Landmine Monitor
interview with Colonel K. Kalandadze, Head of Sappers Department of the Ministry
of Defense of Georgia, April 1998.
[8] Canada’s Department
of Foreign Affairs and International Trade’s Mine Action Database.
[9] United Nations,
Country Report: Georgia. At:
http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/country/georgia.htm.
[10] United Nations
Development Program, United Nations Needs Assessment Mission to Abkhazia,
Georgia (United Nations, March 1998). See http://www.abkhazia.org.
[11] Landmine Monitor
interview with M. Rapava, Head of Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs of Abkhazia.
[12] Landmine Monitor
interview with K. Kalandadze, Ministry of Defense, April 1998.
[14] United Nations,
Country Report: Georgia. At:
www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/country/georgia.htm. The UNDP estimates 50,000 mines
throughout Abkhazia, which makes the UN estimate of 150,000 for all of Georgia
seem high.
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