Yemen
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History
Yemen’s history dates back over 3,000
years. Ancient kingdoms gained wealth through trade, and when the Greeks
and Romans discovered that they could travel to India by boat, Yemen’s
ports became extremely wealthy. In the seventh century, the
Persian-controlled government of Yemen converted to Islam. A long line
of colonialism began when Portugal invaded Yemen in 1513, followed by
England in 1839 and the Ottoman Turks in 1849. The 1950s brought
numerous border conflicts and thus, landmines. Soon, an internal
revolution began within Yemen, and a civil war was waged throughout the
nation. In 1990, Yemen was united as the Unified Republic of Yemen;
however, this was not the end of conflict. Yemen faced more border
disputes with neighboring Saudi Arabia and Eritrea, and another civil
war broke out in 1994.
Landmine / UXO Overview
The Yemen government states that it never
manufactured or exported AP mines; however, it did import mines from the
Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Italy to use in conflicts
between 1962 and 1994. Because of this, most of Yemen’s agricultural
land, as well as land close to water and electricity sources, is
affected by landmines and UXO. More specifically, 1,207 mine-affected
communities in 274 districts in 18 of 19 governates have been
identified, and presently, fences and warning signs around many
designated minefields are missing. The government stated that between
1997 and 1999, 59,000 stockpiled AP mines were counted, and since then,
they have located 20,000 more.
Casualties
Over 2,000 Yemenis have been killed and
3,600 injured by landmines since 1992. A survey completed by the
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) throughout four districts
discovered 1,326 citizens who were disabled by landmines. According to the 2001 Landmine Monitor
Report, there were at
least twelve mine casualties in 2000, and three mine incidents by mid
2001, . These victims were
mostly middle-aged and without prosthetics, financial resources or
adequate healthcare facilities. Recently, however, some advancements
have been made to improve victim assistance. For example, in 1999 the
Ministry of Public Health established a Rehabilitation Department, and
in 2000 Handicap International (HI) began training staff members at a
new rehabilitation center.
Demining
Demining is conducted by a unit of the
Engineering Department of the Ministry of Defense (EDMD) and the Mine
Clearance Unit of the Regional Mine Action Center (MCURMAC). However,
the EDMD consists mainly of both outdated equipment and techniques and
demines on an on-call basis. The MCURMAC has been more successful. They
are trained and equipped by the United States, and in their first
operation in June 1999, they cleared land in Aden to use for grazing. In
2000, 4,286 anti-personnel mines were destroyed in stockpiles. 447
anti-vehicle and 4,897UXO were cleared from a 666,445 m2
area of land, according to the 2001 Landmine Monitor Report. In December
1999, a celebration was held to honor this first step in making Yemen
mine free. The Yemeni government also implemented a Demining Action
Program managed by the United Nations that aims to make Yemen completely
mine free by 2025.
Reality Check
Yemen has accomplished many small goals
in its effort to become mine free. For instance, in 1999 the Yemeni
government spent approximately $1.7 million (U.S.) on its Mine Action
Program. Many other nations have also contributed funds, such as Great
Britain, which recently donated $285,000 to the Mine Action Program. In
addition, numerous medical advancements have been made, and UNMAS
recently selected Yemen to be the first mine-affected country to have a
Level One Survey.
Regarding humanitarianism, however, Yemen
has much to accomplish: converting to any religion other than Islam is
punishable by death.
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Contact Information:
United Nations Development Program
Mine Action Program
P.O. Box 16267 Hadda
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
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