Landmine Free South Caucasus

Across the South Caucasus civil society organisations on Thursday (30 November) called on their governments to adhere to the Ottawa Convention that bans the use, production and sale of anti-personnel landmines. The call came during events held to mark the Day of Solidarity with the victims of landmines and other unexploded remnants of war in the South Caucasus.   In Baku, Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Campaign Against Landmines (AzCAL) hosted an event during which it presented its report "Landmines are the most serious obstacle preventing Azerbaijani IDPs from exercising their right to return to their homes" During the meeting those present also heard testimonials from three persons from Tovuz region and Aghdam who had suffered life changing injuries by landmines. A number of civil society organisations also spoke at the event. The guest of honour at the event was the British Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Fergus Auld. He reiterated the commitment of the British government to work to eradicate the problem of landmines globally, and in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus in particular. Ambassador Auld said the UK government calls on the governments of the region to sign the Ottawa Convention as an expression of their commitment for a landmine free South Caucasus. In Tbilisi, the Tbilisi School for Social Research hosted an event during which the remaining problem of landmines in Georgia was discussed. Giorgi Arziani, Director of the Tbilisi School for Social Research spoke of the costs that anti-personnel landmines inflict on civilians' security and how landmines hamper the economic development of the communities that live close to the landmine fields. Two video reports were shown to participants, including one on the situation with the mine field near the Red Bridge which was followed by a presentation by Irakli Chitanava from UNDP. Speaking on line from Baku, LINKS Europe Executive Director, Dennis Sammut made a public appeal to Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili to take a personal interest in the matter of the Red Bridge minefield. Dennis Sammut said that it was a shame that the area near the Red Bridge - the point where Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are connected -  is a minefield. He called for this to be transformed into a peace park. Dennis Sammut said that the current situation could be explained in the past due to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, but now, with the peace process in motion, and with the prime ministers of the three countries meeting recently in Tbilisi, there should be a new beginning. Dennis Sammut called on prime minister Garibashvili to integrate the Red Bridge minefield issue in his Peaceful Caucasus initiative and make this a tangible example of the new begining. The event in Tbilisi was also addressed by Godfried Hanne, Head of the Regional Office of the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus who spoke about the work of the European Union in support of a landmine free South Caucasus. In Yerevan, Armenia, the NGO Television station CivilNet ran a long interview on the problem of landmines in Armenia and in the wider South Caucasus with Benyamin Poghosyan. In the interview Benyamin Poghosyan urged all concerned to focus on the humanitarian aspect of demining and said that the matter should be depoliticised, and the focus turned to the victims of landmines and their families and communities.

The South Caucasus remains one of the areas most infected with contamination by landmines and other unexploded remnants of war in the world. Last year, the Regional Campaign “Landmine Free South Caucasus”, declared 30th November as a Day of Solidarity with the victims of landmines and other unexploded remnants of war in the South Caucasus. The day is not just a memorial, but a call to humanitarian action. Thousands of people have been killed or injured across the region over the last three decades. The impact of the tragedies on families and communities is high, and the mechanism to alleviate the suffering, very weak. This is not yesterday’s problem. Last year once again saw hundreds killed or injured. The impact on communities is huge and affects tens of thousands of innocent people. In 2022/2023 the campaign focused its work to awareness of the impact of landmines and other remnants of war on individuals and communities across the region. Overall, the Regional Campaign Landmine Free South Caucasus objective is to mobilise support for a landmine free South Caucasus by 2030. As we mark the Day of solidarity with the victims of landmines and other remnants of war in the South Caucasus, we call for resolute action to eradicate the problem of landmines and other unexploded remnants of war from the South Caucasus once and for all. This will require the political will of the three governments, and the support of the international community.

Representatives of governments and international organisations reiterated their willingness to work for a landmine free South Caucasus by 2030, during an event held in Geneva on Monday (19 June 2023) on the margins of this year’s Intersessional Meetings of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, popularly known as “The Ottawa Convention”. The meeting was also attended by representatives of civil society organisations from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. It was organised by LINKS Europe in its capacity as convenor of the regional campaign Landmine Free South Caucasus. In the opening report to the meeting, LINKS Europe Director, Dr Dennis Sammut called on Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to join the Ottawa Convention, but said that on its part the international community needed also to step up its efforts. He proposed that the first steps should be taken before the end of the year for the convening of an international donors conference where a plan for a landmine free South Caucasus by 2030 could be agreed. He proposed that the European Union, as the biggest donor for humanitarian demining  in the South Caucasus, should take the initiative by hosting in the Autumn bilateral Round Tables with the three countries, focused on the issue of landmines and their consequences, to prepare for such an International Conference.

The dust of war from the decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has started to settle, and although peace remains elusive, there is hope across the region for a better future. No-one has waited for this moment more than the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who were displaced by the First Karabakh War in the early 1990s.

The Azerbaijani NGO "Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines" has held an event in Baku State University to mark International Landmines Awareness Day. The focus of the event was the impact of landmines on victims and their communities - which is also the current theme of the regional campaign Landmine Free South Caucasus. During the event, attended by over a hundred students from Baku State University presentations were made by Hafiz Safikhanov, Director of "Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines" (picture below) and a representative of ANAMA, the national state demining agency of Azerbaijan.