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Lebanon and Landmines

Number 115, May 2003

By Ibrahim Debbas


I. CASE BACKGROUND

1. Abstract

According to the UN there are more than 100 million unexploded landmines in more than 60 countries. More than 20,000 people are killed by landmines per year of which the majority are children. It costs $3 to make a landmine to make but hundreds of times more to dismantle it. In Lebanon, since the beginning of the war in 1975, more than 1,200 Lebanese were killed because of the Israeli Landmines. This does not include the thousands that were killed also because of the Lebanese militias the Palestinians as well as the Syrians. This is of course a high number in proportion to the Lebanese population of 3.5 million people.

 

2. Description

Landmines in Lebanon:

      Israel planted more than 400,000 landmines between 1978 and May 2000 when it withdrew. Local militias as well as the Syrian occupational army planted another 100,000 landmines. Yet the number of landmines in Lebanon continues to be underestimated as there are plenty of land that has not been checked for mines.

Israeli Withdrawal

      Moreover, although the Israelis withdrew from the South in May 2000 only a fraction of the Lebanese population was able to return to their homes. Before the occupation the area had more than 300,000 inhabitants, today it has less than 90,000. Although landmines put the population at risk physically it also has an impact on their livelihood. Many of the areas of the South are farm lands and therefore farmers and shepards cannot earn their livelihood due to the dangers imposed by the situation. Moreover, the economic development area is threatened as very few business people would be willing to invest in areas that are infected by mines and whose roads are paved the invisible killer as Mr Ibrahim Assaf calls it in his article.

Furthermore, although the South is attracting tourists yet there is a missed opportunity of attracting more influx of tourists due to the reluctance of tourists to jeopardize their lives.

Demining since May 2000

      Since the Israeli withdrawal in May 2000 the Lebanese Mine Action Coordination Center with the help of the UN and the United Arab Emirates has been able to clear away 11,000 antipersonnel mines as of September 2002. Two private companies are helping in the demining process BACTEC (British) and Minetech (Zimbabwe).       Although according to plans the demining efforts were to take 54 years to finish it seems due to the foreign help and assistance Lebanon’s territory will be demined in 4 years. The mines were made by Israel, U.S, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union, France and many other countries. (See Table 1)
      Neither Israel, nor Syria nor Lebanon have signed the Mine Ban Treaty which came into existence in 1997 in Ottawa and ratified by more than 150 countries and supported by every member of NATO except the U.S.

Table 1 : Number of landmines in the world

Country Number of Landmines (millions)
China
110
Russia
60
United States
11
Ukraine
6
Pakistan
6
India
5
Belarus
4

Source: Landmine Monitor Report 2002
International Campaign to Ban Landmines

      The other counties that have stockpiled are North Korea, South Korea, Yougoslavia, Syria and Israel. There are more than 230 million personnel landmines stockpiled by 94 countries according to LMR. What is interesting to note is that 215 million landmines are stockpiled by countries who have not ratified the Mine Ban Treaty. (See Table 2)

The International Campaign to Ban Landmine (ICBL) was launched in 1992 by NGO’s who felt that the proliferation of antipersonnel landmines caused a humanitarian crisis. There effort led to “The Mine Ban Treaty” formerly known as the The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and On their Destruction. The Mine Ban Treaty was signed in Ottawa Canada on December 3rd, 1997. This treaty required that states destroy their landmines within 4 years and clear minefields within 10 years. It also prohibited in all circumstances the production, transfer, or use of antipersonnel landmines. This treaty urged “countries in a position to do so” to provide for the “care and rehabilitation and social and economic integration of mine victims.”

      As we can see from this table 122 countries signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty when it was proclaimed. Since then another 24 countries have accessed. If we look closely at the countries who have signed it we see that only two countries in the Western Hemisphere have not signed it : Cuba and the United States. Moreover, every NATO member has signed it except the U.S and Turkey. As for the Arab countries we see that Algeria, Jordan , Yemen , Qatar, and Tunisia have signed it. As far as Lebanon is concerned it has taken the position that it will not sign the Land Mine Treaty so long as Israel has not. It goes without saying that for Israel and Lebanon to sign the Land Mine Treaty it would entail that the two sides must sit at the table and sign a peace agreement. Due to the hegemony that Syria has over Lebanon this can’t happen until Israel decides to go back to the negotiation table with Syria based on UN Resolution 242 and UN Resolution 338. Once Israel and Syria sit at the table and discuss peace both countries can sign the Ottawa Agreement which would lead the way for Lebanon to do so and for the rest of the Arab countries to do the same. Click here for

Table 2: 2001 Donations as well as total donations

Country Money Donated in 2001 (in millions $) Largest Donor Countries (in millions $)
U.S
$69.2
$375.5
Norway
$19.7
$172.2
Canada
$15.5
$67.4
U.K
$15.4
$94.1
Denmark
$14.4
$62.3
Netherlands
$13.9
$67.2
Germany
$12.3
$62.7
Sweden
$8.5
$80.0
Switzerland
$8.4
N.A
Japan
$7.0
$70.8
Source Landmine Monitor Report 2002
International Campaign to Ban Landmines

      

      From Table 2, we can see that although the U.S is not a signatory to the Land Mine Ban Treaty it is the highest donor country for demining in the world not only in 2001 but in total donations. It is followed by Norway.

Table 3: Donations to Lebanon by country

Country that donated to Lebanon Amount in $ or other
UAE $50 Million
U.S $ 6.6 Million + mine detection dogs
Greece € 2.3 Million
Sweden $ 165,000 + plant trees to replace mines
Italy € 130,000
Korea $ 100,000
Australia $ 100,000
Norway Demining equipment
Saudi Arabia Demining equipment
Kuwait Demining equipment
Germany Demining equipment
China Mine detectors and protective jackets
Russia Training the Lebanese army personnel
Spain Training the Lebanese army personnel
France Training the Lebanese army personnel
Pakistan Demining efforts
Poland Demining efforts

(Lebanese Army Demining Office)

      Different countries gave the Lebanese government different materials.
Some gave substantial amounts of money such as U.A.E, U.S, and Greece
while others donated demining equipment as well as mine detection dogs.
These dogs help the deminers in searching for mines that go undetected.
"Dogs are considered to be the best detectors of explosives because their
sensitivity to this kind of substance is estimated to be 10,000 higher than
that of a man made detector."

As Stephan de Mistura, the U.N Secretary said “The question of mines has very negative implications for a return to normal in Southern Lebanon. They stop agriculture, they stop the will of the donors to get involved, they stop the confidence of many Lebanese to return to their own territories.”

The UN Interim New Zealand leader, Greg Lindstrom was quoted as saying “There’s a peace dividend to all this. Clearing minefields means that people can come back to their lands. I saw this in Mozambique. It’s a great feeling to see these people return to farm their land.” Moreover, investors are unlikely to spend money in projects where there is risk involved and consumption is low. In addition, tourists are reluctant to come and visit because they fear for their lives. Thus there is an opportunity that is lost for the region specifically and Lebanon as whole. Lebanon gets around $1 billion of hard currency each year which represents a high proportion of its GNP of $16 billion. This of course could be even higher had the mines been cleared.

3. Duration: 1975- Now

4. Location: Continent: Mid East

Continent: Asia

Region: Middle East

Country: Lebanon

 

5. Actors : Lebanon

Syria

Israel

Palestine

 


II. Environment Aspects

6. Type of Environmental Problem: Land Pollution

7. Type of Habitat: Arable Land

      Although Lebanon is located in the Arab world and one expects it to have deserts, Lebanon’s topography does not include any. Unlike the rest of the Arab world, the land is highly arable. Lebanon covers approximately 4,000 square miles or 10,452 Km2 which is smaller than the smallest state in the U.S which is Rhode Island. The coast is around 130 miles which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon has mountains with the highest peak being at Kurnat El Sawda which is about 10,000 feet above sea level. The mountain's proximity to the sea allows the Lebanese as well as the tourists the chance to ski and swim on the same day. The Bekaa Valley is the bread basket of Lebanon as it is used for vegetable farming as well as well as other crops and cattle breeding. Around one third of Lebanese land is cultivable and 25 percent of it is irrigated. Lebanon is known for its olives, oranges, grapes, apples, peaches, pears, strawberries and pears. Lebanon also grows vegetables as well as tobacco. Lebanese raise goats, poultry, cattle and sheep. Lebanon has a dozen river but the main ones are the Litani, Orontes (Nahr el Asi) ,Nahr Ibrahim and Barada River to name but a few. These supply much of the needed water for irrigation to the farmers. Lebanon has a typical Mediterranean climate with a hot summer and cool winter.

8. Act and Harm Sites: Israel and Lebanon

Syria and Lebanon

Palestinians and Lebanon



III. Conflict Aspects

9. Type of Conflict: Inter State

10. Level of Conflict: Low

11. Fatality Level of Dispute (military and civilian fatalities): 90

Country Number of Fatalities Population in Millions Fatalities per Million Inhabitants
Afghanistan
1368
27.8
*49.20
Chechnya
1153
N.A
N.A
Cambodia
813
12.3
66.10
Angola
660
13.5
48.90
Nepal
424
23.6
17.97
India
332
1022.4
0.32
Somalia
224
N.A
N.A
Colombia
201
43.0
4.67
DR Congo
135
52.4
2.57
Sudan
123
37.1
*3.31
Lebanon
90
4.4
20.45


All Population data is from the World Development Report 2003: Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World

* CIA.org

      We can see that Afghanistan had the most fatalities in the world due to mines in 2002 followed by Chechnya and Cambodia. Yet one looks at the fatalities per million inhabitants we see that Cambodia is in the worst situation, followed by Afghanistan, Angola and Lebanon. Although Lebanon has 90 casualties still has one of the world’s highest fatalities per million due to its small population. India on the other hand although it has 4 times the number of casualties as Lebanon is the lowest fatality per million due to its large population size.

      It is said that a million casualty is a statistic but one casualty is a tragedy, how true is that statement when it comes to landmine victims and Ahmed Moqalled's story who was barely five. For that matter his birthday was two days away. As usual the sun was shining in Lebanon and therefore his family decided to go on a picnic with their friends the Hammades in Toul a small village in Nabatieh, in the south of Lebanon. After the boys ate their lunch they started to play “soccer’ or “football”. One of Ahmad’s brothers kicked the ball far and thus Ahmad had to go and get it.
      While running after the ball Ahmed could not but notice a cylinder that was shinning. His curiosity took hold of him and the other boys were soon looking at it. A small thread was hanging from the cylinder. He took the thread and a deafening noise came thundering. His friends and brothers were able to back up in time with one suffering minor injuries. He, unlike them, was not as lucky, his body was gashed opened and he died. His dad told Gulf News “All I did was take my son to the field to play. But he returned dead.”
      This tragic event although it happened to one child has occurred hundreds of time in Lebanon to children as well as adults. As a matter of fact “Seventy percent of the casualties of mines in south Lebanon are children under 16 year-old.” Moreover, “there are more than 3 Israeli mines per child in south Lebanon.” Another child Ali, who luckily survived a mine but lost both of his legs, said “I miss flying my kite up the hill.” (Habouba Aoun)
      As we can see children while enjoying a day out in the sun can have their lives ended. Yet the landmines are not only hurting, maiming, and killing children but also farmers, displaced, and investors, tourists and sappers. In the first case when landmines are planted on fields it undermines the farmers ability to tend to his field or their crops. He not only can’t tend to his field but also his livestock will bear negative consequences.
      Lebanese and non Lebanese sappers lose on a regular basis, hands, feet, legs and other body parts while trying to dismantle mines. The displaced, meaning, those who had to flee their homes due to the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon as well as due to the constant pounding of the Israeli military machine on their homes cannot return to their homes or land because the land is mined and they fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Only 26 percent of the exogenous population was left. Seventy percent tried to return yet failed because of the landmines. These landmines not only do not allow children to play but more importantly they deprive the local population from having schools, hospitals and other basic infrastructure in the South of Lebanon.
      As Stephan de Mistura, the U.N Secretary said “The question of mines has very negative implications for a return to normal in Southern Lebanon. They stop agriculture, they stop the will of the donors to get involved, they stop the confidence of many Lebanese to return to their own territories.”
The Un Interim New Zealand leader, Greg Lindstrom was quoted as saying “There’s a peace dividend to all this. Clearing minefields means that people can come back to their lands. I saw this in Mozambique. It’s a great feeling to see these people return to farm their land.”

Moreover, investors are unlikely to spend money in projects where there is risk involved and consumption is low. In addition, tourists are reluctant to come and visit because they fear for their lives. Thus there is an opportunity that is lost for the region specifically and Lebanon as whole. Lebanon gets around $1 billion of hard currency each year which represents a high proportion of its GNP of $16 billion. This of course could be even higher had the mines been cleared.


>

IV. Environment and Conflict Overlap: Indirect Link

12. Environment-Conflict Link and Dynamics:

Political Situation :

       The war in Lebanon officially started on April 13th 1975 and ended on October 13th 1990 when 8 Syrian Sukhoi 7 aircrafts bombed the Lebanese presidential palace. This surgical operation was monitored at high altitude by Israeli aircrafts.

The fact that Syria was able to use its planes over Lebanon was not only a military signal but more importantly a political signal. The red line was broken. In return for Syria’s alliance in the Gulf War I the U.S and the world community were ready to acquiesce to Syria’s hegemony over its smaller neighbor. Since then Lebanon has been living on Damascus time as decisions pertaining to Lebanon are taken in Damascus rather in Beirut. The Lebanese government which is composed of an equal number of Christians and Muslims (64 each) is at the beck and call of Syria as the deputies are hand chosen by Syria. Since the takeover of Lebanon by Syria 3 governments have been formed. The participation of the electorate ranged from less than 13% to 35% as the opposition led by General Michel Aoun (opposed to the Syria’s occupation of Lebanon and wants the implementation of U.N Resolution 520 which calls on Syria to withdraw its troops) who is in exile and Samir Geagea who is in jail (the leader of the dismantled Christian Lebanese Forces who is also opposed to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon) have decided to boycott the elections.
      After more than 27 years of war we have more than 180,000 dead which is around 5 percent of the population, 500,000 wounded which is 16 percent of the population, and more than 1 million displaced which is 30 percent of the population. Moreover, 20,000 Lebanese are missing and their fate is unknown. More than 1 million Lebanese left between 1975 and 1990 and another 1.2 million left between 1990 and 2003. There are more than 15 million Lebanese living outside of Lebanon of which 5 million are in one country : Brazil. This is due mainly to the poor economic conditions as well as lack of freedom and war.

13. Level of Strategic Interest: High

14. Outcome of Dispute: Ongoing


V. Related Information and Sources

15. Related ICE Cases

ICE 14: LITANI Litani River and Israel-Lebanon, by Angela Joy Moss (November, 1997)

ICE 59: CEDARS Cedars of Lebanon, Babylon and Conflict by Ben Kasoff (November, 1997)

ICE 66: LebWaste Lebanon Civil War and Waste Dumping (Parallel TED Case Lebanon) by Sawsan Al-Ali

ICE 97: Landmine, Landmines Cleanup and Trade (Cross link the Ted case 295) by Sean D. Morris (June 1996)

Footnotes:

(1) “UN General Assembly, Reviewing Global Mine Clearance Efforts, is Told Lingering Problem Destroys Resources, Hampers Development; Grave Human Toll Continues From Years-old Weapons- Assassins in Hiding.” Says Lebanon, Among Delegates of 20 Countries Urging Continued Removal Action- Part 2 of 2” M2 Presswire November 18th 2002.

(2) Lebanese Army Demining Office

(3)Israeli Mines & UXO Devices Slowing Lebanese Development, UN Wire 24th January 2001

(4)Cilian Nassar “Arduous Task of De-mining South Lebanon” Global News Wire July 29th, 2002.

(5)Habouba Aoun Balamand University Landmines Resource Center

(6)Israeli Mines & UXO Devices Slowing Lebanese Development, UN Wire 24th January 2001

(7) Robert Fisk"South Lebanon Slowly Starts to Lose its Mine But too Late for Some" Independent Decemeber 11th 2000.

(8)Pierre Beylan "Le Liban Sacrifiee" Le Point, October 22nd 1990 p21

(9)Pierre Beylan "Le Liban Sacrifiee" Le Point, October 22nd 1990 p21

16. Relevant Websites and Literature

Bibliography

Abdallah, Muntasser “Lebanese Moved to Mine Clearance Through Patriotism, Unemployment.” Agence France Presse July 25th 2001.
Aoun, Habouba Balamand University Landmines Resource Centre.
Beylan, Pierre "Le Liban Sacrifiee" Le Point, October 22nd 1990 p21
Black, Rod “Canadian Landmine Awareness Event” CTV Television Inc. April 25th 2002.
Blanford, Nicholas “New Effort Tackles Old Mines” The Christian Science Monitor, May 31st 2002.
Dakroub, Hussein “Two Civilians Killed in South Lebanon Explosions.” Associated Press Worldstream April 29th 2001.
Deen, Thalif “Disarmament: U.N Deploys Sniffer Dogs to Find Mines in Lebanon” Inter Press Service March 4th 2001.
Deen, Thalif “Politics: NGO’s Caution U.S Against Using Landmines in Iraq.” Inter Press Service December 13th 2002.
Fisk, Robert "South Lebanon Slowly Starts to Lose its Mine But too Late for Some" Independent Decemeber 11th 2000.
Ibrahim,Muawia “Over 11,500 Mines Cleared in Lebanon” Khaleej Times Online November 2nd 2002 www.khaleejtimes.co.ae/ktarchive/021102/lead.htm
Kazmi, Aftab “Move to Demine s Lebanon” Gulf News, April 3rd 2002.
Kawach, Nadim “UAE Urged to Sign Global Anti-Mining Treaty.” Global News Wire, January 17th 2003
Nasser, Cilina “Arduous Task of De-mining South Lebanon” Global News Wire July 29th, 2002.
“8,000 More Mines and Explosives Cleared: Lebanese Army” Xinhua General News Service, July 19th 2002.
“90,000 People Threatened by 400,000 Mines in South Lebanon.” Xinhua General News Service February 5th 2002.
“Australia to Help Fund De-Mining Work in Lebanon” BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific May 2nd , 2001.
“Beirut Receives Maps on 405,000 Mines Left by Israel in South Lebanon.” Agence France Presse, January 29th 2002.
“Bomb Injured Students” Morning Star, August 6th 2001
“Child Killed in Southern Lebanon in Israeli Landmine Blast” Agence France Presse, November 27th 2001.
“China, Lebanon Sign Landmine Clearance Agreement.” BBC Monitoring International Reports, November 26th 2002.
“De-Mining Operation Launched in South Lebanon.” Xinhua , October 26th 2001.
“90,000 People Threatened by 400,000 Mines in South Lebanon.” Xinhua General News Service February 5th 2002.
“Five Men Injured in Bomb Explosion in South Lebanon.” Associated Press Worldstream, June 18th 2002.
“France Reassures Lebanon of Help with Mine Clearance.” Xinhua General News Service, October 1st 2001.
“International Campaign to Ban Landmines” M2 Presswire, January 27th, 2003.
“International Workshop Concerned Over Landmines in Lebanon” Xinhua General News Service, May 21st 2001.
“Israeli Explosive Kills Lebanese Child” Middle East News Online, April 25th 2001.
“Joint Operations to Remove Landmines in Lebanon” Gulf News, October 25th 2001.“Landmines Production, Sales Dropped, U.N Says.” Deutsche-Presse- Agentur, March 1st , 2001.
“Lebanon” www.mineaction.org/sp/countries/counties_overview.cfm?country_id=Leabnon
“Lebanon Announces a Five- Year Plan to Rid the Country from Mines.” Deutsche-Presse-Agentur May 21st 2001.
“Lebanon, France Sign Deal on Landmine Clearance” Xinhua General News Service, November 19th 2001.
“Lebanon: ICRC Community-Based Mine/ Unexploded Ordnance Awareness Programme.” www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList361/2B443C7C5EE99110C125670002
“Lebanon Launches Mine Warning Education Program” Xinhua General News Service, April 11th 2001.
“Lebanon Launches Second Demining Operation.” Xinhua General News Service, May 29th 2002
“Left-Over Israeli Cluster Bomb Wounds Children in Southern Lebanon.” Deutsche Presse-Agentur January 24th 2002.
“Mine Action Support Group Update” Journal of Mine Action 6.3 Victim Assistance Fall 2002 http://maic.jmu.edu/journal/6.3/notes/masgu/masgu.htm
“Mine Blast Wounds Lebanese Civilian” Deutshe Presse-Agentur, February 12th 2001.
“Mine Wounds Lebanese Man in Southern Lebanon” Deutshe Presse-Agentur April 28th 2001.
“New Phase of Operation Emirates Solidarity Will Be Launched in South Lebanon” UNISPAL Press Release May 23rd 2002
“Occupation: Characteristics” http://www.moqawama.org/charact/char_2002/feb.htm
“Over 1,000 Lebanese Killed by Israeli Mines.” Xinhua General News Service, May 21st 2001.
“Pakistan Army to Carry Out De-Mining Operations in South Lebanon” Business Recorder, August 9th 2001.
“Poland Says it Will Join Demining Efforts in South Lebanon” Agence France Presse, December 16th, 2002.
“Sapper Killed by Landmine Explosion in South Lebanon” Associated Press Worldstream , October 12th 2001.
“Security Council Extends Interim Force in Lebanon Until 31st July, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1461 (2003)”, M2 Presswire, January 31st 2003.
“The Right to a Care-Free Life” New Straits Times, June 7th 2002.
“Two Yugoslav Mine Experts Wounded in South Lebanon.” Agence France Presse January 12th 2003.
“UAE to Help Lebanon Clear Landmines” Deutsche Presse-Agentur March 19th 2001.
“U.A.E: Lahoud Honours Abdullah with Cedar Orders” The Emirates July 21st 2001.
“UAE, Lebanon, UN Launch Operation Emirates Solidarity for Demining S Lebanon” www.escwa.org.lb/information/press/un/2001/25oct.html
“UN General Assembly, Reviewing Global Mine Clearance Efforts, is Told Lingering Problem Destroys Resources, Hampers Development; Grave Human Toll Continues From Years-old Weapons- Assassins in Hiding.” Says Lebanon, Among Delegates of 20 Countries Urging Continued Removal Action- Part 2 of 2” M2 Presswire November 18th 2002.
“UNIFIL Presses Israel for Location of Land Mines”
www.landmineaction.org/news133.asp
“U.N Launches “for every mine a tree” Project in Southern Lebanon.” Deutsche Presse-Agentur November 19th 2002.
“U.S to Assist Lebanon in dlrs 4.5 Million Mine-Detecting Program” Associated Press Worldstream December 3rd 2001
Landmine Monitor Report 2002 International Campaign to Ban Landmines
Lebanese Army Demining Office