Bulletin 3 - November 2 , 2001

MEDICAL GROUP CALLS FOR MORATORIUM ON USE OF CLUSTER BOMBS AND ANTIPERSONNEL LANDMINES IN AFGHANISTAN; U.S. MUST DISCLOSE MUNITIONS INFORMATION TO UN

Islamabad, Pakistan-- Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today called on the United States to impose an immediate moratorium on the deployment of cluster bombs and antipersonnel landmines in Afghanistan. The group also called on the United States to comply with the request by the UN Mine Action Program for Afghanistan (UNMAPA) to be informed of the targets, types, and quantities of munitions used so far during coalition air strikes. Lastly, PHR called on the U.S. to commit to and implement full clearance of all unexploded munitions deployed during the military campaign in Afghanistan.

U.S. military have confirmed the use of cluster bombs in Afghanistan. PHR has not been able to resolve conflicting reports about U.S. landmine deployment in Afghanistan, but U.S. military leaders recently indicated that they have not ruled out using antipersonnel landmines in the military campaign.

As a co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its founding role in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, PHR has documented the indiscriminate nature of this weapon that leads to thousands of civilian deaths each year. With the current high dud rate of cluster bombs estimated to be between 5 and 30%, the group believes that cluster submunitions, like antipersonnel landmines, could result in loss of human life, threaten refugee movement, obstruct farming, and hinder aid delivery. Cluster bombs have reportedly killed 9 Afghan civilians in recent weeks near Herat. Landmines and NATO-dropped cluster bombs also caused high rates of civilian casualties in Kosovo in 1999.

"The world has condemned the use of antipersonnel landmines. It is now time for all nations, including the United States, to recognize that both antipersonnel mines and cluster bombs are indiscriminate and cause a devastating civilian toll," said Leonard S. Rubenstein, executive director of PHR.

Even before the current conflict, landmines led to tremendous civilian casualties in 27 out of 29 Afghan provinces. Eight to ten million landmines remain in the ground after two decades of war in the country. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines reports that in Afghanistan in the year 2000, there were 88 casualties each month. Reports from UNMAPA indicate that this number has increased dramatically since the U.S. aerial bombing commenced.

The U.S. government reports that one third of U.S. military casualties in the Vietnam Conflict and the Persian Gulf War were due to antipersonnel landmines. Additionally, at least 25 U.S. military personnel were killed and others injured by submunitions fired by their own forces in Operation Desert Storm. Similarly, the hidden weapons could pose a serious threat to U.S. soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan.

Since September 11, UNMAPA's regular mine clearance operations have ground to a halt. Emergency teams are in desperate need of information to identify and defuse new weapons on the ground.

According to PHR interviews, UNMAPA's 4,800 mine clearance specialists are unable to prevent civilian casualties by safely disposing of new unexploded ordnance (UXO), especially cluster sub-munitions, because they lack detailed information about the weapons on the ground. Without full knowledge of the types of weapons that planes are dropping, how these weapons are defused, and where and in what quantities they are being deployed, clearance specialists are unable to proceed with their life-saving work. This information can also be used by the seven non-governmental groups that conduct mine awareness classes for Afghans, teaching them how to identify and avoid UXO that they may be encountering for the first time.

UNMAPA's mine detection dogs are unable to effectively discriminate between mined and non-mined areas due to the explosive residue and multiple munitions spread by cluster bombs. Thus, human mine removal teams must find each landmine or bomb, putting them at an increased risk of detonating the devices.

"The United States must demonstrate true concern for the impact that the air campaign is having on the Afghan people by giving UN demining teams the information they need to save civilian lives," stated Dr. Lynn Amowitz of PHR, currently on the Afghan border. "Coalition stalling only prolongs the inability of Afghan deminers to remove the weapons that Afghan men, women and children fear everyday they step outside their homes, never knowing if their next step is their last," she said.

The CBU-87 cluster bomb is reportedly being deployed in Afghanistan. Each canister can hold up to 250 "bomblets." Cluster submunitions are distinct from other ordnance because of their unusual shape and bright colors, making children particularly susceptible. Clusters are also the same bright yellow color as the humanitarian daily rations being airdropped by the U.S., though military officials have indicated that they will change the color of future food packets.