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Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance) 

Country Summary

The Republic of Iraq is the world’s most contaminated country by extent of mined area. Legacy mined areas account for most known contamination and result from the 1980–1988 war with Iran, the 1991 Gulf War, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States (US)-led coalition. Mined areas also include barrier minefields along Iraq’s borders with Iran and Saudi Arabia. In addition, the occupation of large areas by the Islamic State militant group, from 2014 onward, added further extensive contamination with improvised mines and other explosive devices. A high proportion of these devices are antipersonnel landmines prohibited under the Mine Ban Treaty.

The scale of landmine contamination presents a challenge that will not be met by Iraq’s Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline of February 2028. Iraq’s 2017 extension request highlighted the challenges in meeting this deadline, including insecurity, new contamination from ongoing conflict, lack of capacity and expertise, climate and topography, and lack of funding.[1] At the Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of State Parties in November 2020, Iraq noted that COVID-19 had affected survey and clearance, as had a drop in oil prices.[2]

Iraq has also indicated that it is unlikely to meet its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 clearance deadline of 2023.[3]

Risk education is conducted by both national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Federal Iraq and the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The primary focus since 2015 has been on providing risk education to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to areas liberated from the Islamic State. However, due to a rise in accidents in the south, the Directorate of Mine Action (DMA) in Iraq is planning a risk education campaign for Bedouin people in the governorate of Al-Muthanna.[4] Risk education is primarily delivered through interpersonnal communication, printed media, TV and radio, although a pilot risk education campaign delivered through Facebook was conducted in 2019.

Iraq is responsible for significant numbers of mine, cluster munition, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors and indirect victims who are also in need. The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Iraq is estimated to be at least 48,000–68,000.[5]

Treaty status

Treaty status overview

Clearance deadline extension requests

Iraq requested an extension to its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline in April 2017, and received a 10-year extension to 1 February 2028. However, the scale of Iraq’s mine contamination means that it is unlikely to meet this deadline.

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Iraq is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 November 2023. Iraq told the Monitor that it is unlikely to meet this deadline, and that with its current clearance capacity it would require 17 more years. To meet the deadline, Iraq reports that it would need a capacity of 45 clearance teams.[6]

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview[7]

Note: IED=improvised explosive device.

Coordination

The DMA coordinates and manages the sector in Federal Iraq, covering 15 out of 19 governorates. The DMA implements policy set by the National Higher Council for Mine Action, which reports to the prime minister. The DMA has three Regional Mine Action Centers (RMACs) covering the north, the Middle Euphrates region, and the south.[8]

RMAC North, based at DMA headquarters in Baghdad, covers areas liberated from Islamic State. RMAC South, based in Basra, is responsible for clearance of antipersonnel mine contamination and cluster munition remnants, with over 90% of cluster munition contaminated land in Iraq under its responsibility.[9]

The Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) manages mine action in four northern governorates—Dohuk, Erbil, Garmian, and Sulimaniya—within the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The IKMAA reports directly to the office of the prime minister in the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Since 2015, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has contracted national and international implementing partners to undertake explosive hazard management in areas retaken from the Islamic State. UNMAS also provides technical support to the Iraqi government to manage and coordinate its response to explosive ordnance. In coordination with the UN Protection Cluster and national authorities, UNMAS also supports risk education activities.[10]

Strategies and policies

Iraq’s National Mine Action Strategy for 2017–2021 is based on the plan outlined in its 2017 Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 extension request.[11] However, this strategy is outdated due to new priorities arising from mine contamination that occurred during the conflict with the Islamic State.

Legislation and standards

Iraq has national mine action standards, although some are outdated, and some exist only in Arabic.

Information management

The DMA and IKMAA both have Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) Next Generation databases that are operated by the Information Management and Mine Action Program (IMMAP), a service provider working under contract with the US Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (WRA). In 2019, the IMSMA system was updated to provide an online operations dashboard, online task management system, and online reporting tool (FIRST).[12] A Technical Working Group for Information Management was established in 2019.[13]

Gender and diversity

In 2017, the DMA established a Gender Unit to highlight gender considerations in all fields of mine action. In 2019, the unit was involved in the implementation of non-technical survey (NTS) and risk education, particularly in areas liberated from the Islamic State.[14]

Risk education management and coordination

The DMA at the national level, and the IKMAA in Iraqi Kurdistan, serve as the government focal points for mine/ERW risk education in Iraq. Risk education is coordinated nationwide through the Risk Education Working Group, while Iraq has national standards in place for risk education.

Coordination

The DMA coordinates the Risk Education Working Group. Risk education coordination meetings are supposed to be held every month, but only one meeting was held in 2019.[15] News, updates and information about mine/ERW accidents is also shared through a DMA risk education WhatsApp group.[16] Risk education messages and materials are validated by the DMA and the IKMAA.[17]

National Standards and guidelines

A national standard for risk education was produced in 2015, but is only available in Arabic.

Reporting

As part of the updating of the IMSMA system in Iraq, electronic risk education reports have been created.[18]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination

* IADO is not included in the development of annual victim assistance plans, but it is represented in the Commission on Persons with Disabilities, under the authority of MoLSA, and holds meetings with different disability NGOs which are involved in decision making. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) exchanges ideas with IADO for planning, while Humanity & Inclusion (HI) works in partnership with IADO. (Source: Response to Monitor questionnaire by Nagham Awada, Media Relations and Spokesperson, ICRC Iraq, 7 May 2018; and email from Rebecca Letven, Head of Mission, HI Iraq, 12 July 2018).

The DMA engages with the following state bodies in the coordination of victim assistance:

• MoHE, which manages rehabilitation centers and provides therapeutic services, as well as providing orthopedic instruments and prosthetic devices;
• MoLSA, which provides services through its Social Welfare Department, Employment and Loan Department and Vocational Training Service;[19]
• Department of Special Needs and Welfare of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which is reported to be responsible for policy development.[20]

Coordination in victim assistance has led to the improved provision of rehabilitation and treatment services through the MoHE in Baghdad and governorates. However, services provided have not yet reached the projected level. Victim assistance planning is supervised and coordinated by relevant implementing partners.[21]

The Commission on the Care of Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs was established by Law 38 (2013) to oversee the implementation of government policy related to the rights of persons with disabilities in Iraq.[22]

Laws and policies

Iraqi law does not prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities. Despite a 2016 decree ordering the accessibility of buildings, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) report that many children with disabilities have dropped out of public school due to insufficient physical access to school buildings. Iraq has a 5% public sector employment quota for persons with disabilities.[23]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination (as of December 2019)[24]

* Iraq has not specified to what extent this IED contamination comprised improvised landmines.

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war; and IED=improvised explosive device.

Landmine contamination

Iraq is the world’s most contaminated country by total extent of mined area. Legacy mined areas account for most known contamination and result from the 1980–1988 war with Iran, the 1991 Gulf War, and the 2003 invasion by the US-led coalition. Contamination also includes barrier minefields along Iraq’s borders with Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The occupation of large areas of Iraq by the Islamic State after 2014 added extensive contamination with improvised mines and other explosive devices. A high proportion of these explosive devices are antipersonnel landmines, prohibited under the Mine Ban Treaty. Improvised mines were used by the Islamic State in urban areas, in defensive belts around major population centers and villages, and around vital infrastructure, including factories.[25] More than 5.8 million people were displaced between 2014 and 2017 in the conflict to retake territory from the Islamic State.[26]

Iraq is also contaminated by improvised mines and other IEDs in areas liberated from the Islamic State. Iraq reported 1,239.17km² of antipersonnel landmine contamination as of the end of 2019, and an additional 627.58km² of contamination by improvised mines.[27]

Cluster munition remnants contamination

Cluster munition remnants contaminate significant areas in the center and south of Iraq, a legacy of the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 US-led invasion. Some contamination is believed to remain from the Iran-Iraq War of 1980–1988, when cluster munitions were widely used in Khuzestan and to a lesser extent in Kermanshah, in western Iraq. Cluster munition remnants contamination is also thought to remain in Kirkuk and Nineveh governorates, as a legacy of US-led coalition airstrikes.

While the vast majority of cluster munition contaminated areas are found in southern Iraq, and are under the responsibility of RMAC South, cluster munition remnants are also found in the Middle Euphrates region and further north, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.[28]

RMAC South reported to the Monitor that as of the end of 2019, cluster munition remnants covered a total area of 178.64km² in the center and south of Iraq.[29]

ERW Contamination

Iraq is heavily contaminated by ERW across the north, center, and south; although the total extent of contamination is unknown.

Casualties

Casualties overview[30]

Casualties in 2019: details

The Monitor recorded 161 landmine and unexploded submunition casualties in Iraq in 2019. As in previous years, many mine/ERW casualties likely went unreported, preventing the identification of casualty trends between years.[31]

Despite under-reporting, the decline in recorded mine/ERW casualties in 2019 is consistent with UN data indicating a significant overall reduction in conflict-related casualties of all types in 2019. In December 2018, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) reported that “monitoring in recent months has shown a steady reduction in civilian casualties.”[32]

The majority of mine/ERW casualties in 2019 were civilians, although the age and gender of most casualties was not reported. Improvised mines were responsible for a high proportion of casualties.

Data collection remains challenging in Iraq. In 2019 and 2020, IMMAP provided regular updates on explosive hazards,[33] but mine/ERW incident casualties were rarely recorded. In 2019, a report by Humanity & Inclusion (HI), titled “Study on Explosive Hazard Victim Reporting and Data Management Processes in Iraq,” found that “there is limited to no coordination between the actors involved in Victim and accident reporting and data management processes.[34] DMA and IKMAA reportedly have insufficient staff, a lack of technical expertise, inconsistent reporting forms and a lack of formal guidelines for data collection and management.

Cluster munition remnants casualties

As of the end of 2019, 3,070 casualties from cluster munitions had been recorded in Iraq for all time. Of these casualties, 388 occurred during strikes (128 killed, 260 injured).[35] It has been estimated that there have been between 5,500 and 8,000 casualties from cluster munitions since 1991 in Iraq, including casualties that resulted from strikes, and that a quarter of the estimated total casualties were children.[36] Iraq’s survey of mine/ERW victims had identified 880 victims of cluster munitions (148 killed, 732 injured) in five provinces as of 31 March 2014.[37]

Iraq identified 20 unexploded cluster submunition casualties in 2019, in Muthanna and Basra.[38]

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

Clearance operators

Clearance

Land release overview[39]

Note: IED=improvised explosive device.

Land release: landmines

Since 2017, demining operations have focused on clearing areas liberated from the Islamic State, resulting in the release of large areas. In 2019, the DMA in Federal Iraq again reported releasing a large amount of land through survey and clearance, much of which was contaminated with IEDs.[40]

The DMA reported clearing 0.89km² of land contaminated by mines in 2019 and 40.24km² of IED contamination, although the type of device was not specified. IKMAA reported clearing 2.26km² of land contaminated by mines and 3.17km² contaminated by IEDs. In addition, a further 12.17km² was released through survey.[41]

In 2019, additional IED contamination was discovered via survey in the governorates of Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salah al-Din; areas under the responsibility of RMAC North. Most of these newly discovered contaminated areas were in Anbar and Ninewa.[42]

Land release: cluster munition remnants

Iraq reported clearance of 6.29km² of cluster munition contaminated land in 2019 and the removal of 9,996 submunitions, constituting a decrease on the amount of land cleared 2018 but an increase in the number of submunitions cleared.[43] A total of 76.92km² was released through survey in 2019.

Priority areas for clearance include hazardous areas located near to communities, areas where IDPs are set to return, areas where accidents have been reported, and areas where contamination hinders humanitarian and development projects.[44]

RMAC South reported that challenges for clearance include the fact that national clearance efforts are focused primarily on areas liberated from the Islamic State.[45] Iraq reports that it is unlikely to meet its cluster munition remnants clearance deadline of 2023, and that with its current capacity, clearance would require 17 more years or a capacity of 45 teams.[46]

Risk education

Operators and service providers

Risk education operators[47]

Note: IDP=internally displaced persons; and NGO=non-governmental organization.

Beneficiary numbers

Beneficiary numbers in 2019

Implementation

In Iraq, risk education is delivered in urban and rural areas, in IDP camps, and host communities. Operators reported covering landmines, improvised mines and IEDs, and ERW. In the north, there was less focus among risk education operators on cluster munition remnants than in the south.

Most operators implement risk education as an integrated part of survey and clearance activities. Clearance and survey are tasked by the DMA, and all demining operations are accompanied by a risk education task order, to provide risk education in the area surrounding the clearance task.[48] The DMA and the Civil Defense both operate free phone lines for members of the public to report ordnance.[49]

Risk education is not currently integrated into the school curriculum, although the DMA reported that it is working with the Ministry of Education to integrate risk education into the curriculum for grades 5 and 6, and is developing plans to train groups of teachers in risk education delivery in all governorates.[50] UNMAS also reported that it was exploring the integration of risk education into the after-school curriculum with an implementing partner.[51]

During 2019, operators conducted risk education sessions within schools, particularly those near to clearance sites.[52] HI trained teachers to deliver risk education sessions to children.

MAG collaborated with IKMAA and the Department of Education to support the integration of risk education into the school curriculum in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This included training teachers to deliver risk education messages.[53]

Most risk education in Iraq is conducted through face-to-face sessions, held in communities and at household level. Mass media is also employed with the use of billboards, TV, radio, and social media. DMA broadcasts awareness films on TV and has coordinated with local satellite channels to broadcast education segments focusing on contamination type for each governorate.[54] Both HI and MAG used Facebook to deliver risk education messages in 2019.

HI and MAG also train community focal points to provide risk education in their communities, particularly where access is difficult, or where communities are remote. MAG community focal points support MAG in data collection and the reporting of ERW, in addition to delivering risk education to community members.[55]

Challenges for risk education delivery in Iraq included access and movement restrictions; the time taken by national mine action authorities to approve materials; the need to ensure messages were delivered in multiple languages for different regions and ethnic groups; and limited internet access among rural populations.

Target groups

National level victim data is not fully comprehensive, and most operators therefore relied on their own analysis of victim data to target risk education. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and IRCS were also reported to have compiled and shared victim data with some operators.[56]

In 2019, priority areas for risk education were those liberated from the Islamic State, to ensure that IDPs returning to these areas had an awareness of the risk and the knowledge of how to stay safe. Because risk education resources have been prioritized to areas liberated from the Islamic State, the middle and south of Iraq have seen a lower level of risk education activity in recent years.[57]

UNMAS grants initially focused on the provision of risk education to IDPs and returnees amid the high rate of return following the liberation of territory from the Islamic State.[58] The closure of IDP camps was reported to be taking place, with the concern that this might encourage more people to return to contaminated areas.[59] In 2019, UNMAS was using Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) surveys to assess current risk education needs.

Other primary target groups for risk education include children, shepherds, scrap metal collectors (including children), farmers, foragers, and agricultural workers. In urban areas, municipality workers and street cleaners are a high-risk group targeted by risk education operators.

Young adult men are viewed to be most at risk due to their likelihood of working in occupations that place them at risk of exposure to ordnance. However, this group was also reported to be the most difficult to reach through risk education sessions.

MAG, HI, The HALO Trust, and UNMAS provided risk education for NGOs, government staff, journalists, and other institutions working in contaminated areas. MAG reported that sessions are tailored to the main activities of each organization, and include information on desk assessment, deployment planning, emergency preparedness and response, and reporting.[60] The HALO Trust provided risk education for community mobilizers working for the International Organization for Migration (IOM). UNMAS risk education has targeted UNDP and IOM “cash-for-work” workers.

Nomadic communities, particularly in southern Iraq, are a high-risk group. The DMA developed an intensive awareness campaign, implemented in 2020, for the Bedouin people in Samawah Badia in the southern governorate of Al-Muthanna, following a rise in accidents during the spring season when the Bedouins gather to graze livestock and plant crops.[61]

UNMAS reported that it was making efforts to better collect disability disaggregated data to inform risk education, and HI produced a video with risk education messages explained via sign language and subtitles.[62]

Marking

The DMA has marked dangerous areas with triangular warning signs, in both Arabic and English. These signs are replaced and maintained on a regular basis.[63]

RMAC South reported fixing 600 warning signs in Al-Muthanna province near hazardous areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants and other ERW following several accidents in the area.

Major developments in 2019

The US Department of State partnered with Facebook, MAG, and DMA in 2019 to pilot a project using Facebook advertisements containing risk education messages, targeting returnees in Ninewa governorate. According to Facebook analytics results, the advertisements were shown 29 million times, reaching over 980,000 people.[64]

UNMAS Iraq began piloting a large-scale media communications campaign in 2019. A strategic communications company, which specializes in behavior change, was recruited to conduct initial research. In 2020, UNMAS also planned to pilot a risk education project focusing on mitigation measures for intentional risk-takers.[65]

Victim assistance

Victim assistance operators[66]

Note: IDP=internally displaced persons.

Major developments in 2019

The recommendations of a workshop, titled “Victim Assistance National Stakeholders Dialogue: Promoting a Strategic Approach to Victim Assistance,” held in Baghdad from 25–27 September 2018, with the support of the European Union (EU), were being taken into account by the victim assistance department of DMA, in coordination with relevant partners in the Ministries of Health, Environment, Labour and Social Affairs.[67]

Needs assessment

UNAMI and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recommended that Iraq establish a system of data collection with regard to persons with disabilities.[68] No progress was reported during 2019. HI reported that “a lot of mine action data collection activities are being implemented, including victim specific surveys, activities reporting, explosive hazard accident reporting, contamination area surveys, and needs assessments,” but there was limited coordination between the actors involved in victim and accident reporting and data management processes.[69]

DMA field-based victim assistance teams encouraged mine survivors to complete forms and enter information into the IMSMA database. DMA, in coordination with MoHESR, MoLSA, and the IRCS, collected data in areas liberated from the Islamic State. DMA conducted field surveys of mine/ERW survivors in Anbar governorate.[70]

Physical disabilities resulting from conflict-related injuries and accidents, an ongoing issue in Iraq, have increased due to mines/ERW remaining from the Islamic State conflict. Amputees registered in the Mosul Rehabilitation Center database included 4,493 amputees from Ninewah governorate, includingsurvivors of IEDs and landmines.[71]

Iraq’s Health Cluster Physical Rehabilitation Working Group has coordinated partners providing physical rehabilitation since mid-2018. In 2019, the working group’s partners conducted a clinical assessment in 21 IDP camps in Ninewah (led by the WHO and the local Department of Health), a rights assessment in three IDP camps in Ninewah (led by HI), an assessment of available assistive devices in Ninewah (led by the WHO), and an assessment on amputee prevalence in east Mosul.[72]

The victim assistance department of DMA, in cooperation with UNMAS and IMSMA, also carried out field visits to all rehabilitation and orthopedic centers within health departments across Iraq’s governorates, to evaluate service provision and submit a report with recommendations. Field visits to sports clubs were also conducted in coordination with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) and the National Paralympic Committee.[73]

Medical care and rehabilitation

Iraq reported there are no emergency medical services in contaminated areas. Injured survivors are evacuated by companions or receive first-aid from organizations working near the contaminated areas.[74] The ICRC did not provide additional ad hoc support for primary healthcare centers, and reported that there was “no need” for this. After its first-aid training program ended in 2018, the ICRC focused on supervising “training of trainers” courses, and the NRCS conducted a first-aid training session with ICRC support. The ICRC provided medicines, supplies, and training for emergency and surgical care at two hospitals in the governorates of Anbar and Salahuddin.[75]

There are 23 rehabilitation centers in Iraq.[76] Assistive devices and equipment were reported to be of poor quality, while higher-quality devices were in short supply and were unaffordable to most people. Physical therapy centers were lacking in remote and rural areas.[77] Health Cluster Physical Rehabilitation Working Group partners provided around 20,000 physical rehabilitation sessions for 4,800 people in Dohuk, Kirkuk, Ninewah, and Sulaymaniyah; provided around 600 prosthesis; and trained 120 staff on physical techniques including stump management and physiotherapy.[78]

No prosthetic or orthopedic center in Iraq manufactures devices, and thus all parts were imported. Rehabilitation is not available in decentralized health structures such as hospitals; and where such services do exist, there are no qualified physiotherapy staff. The rehabilitative care that does exist in Iraq is not comprehensive, remains physical-therapy focused and lacks specialized rehabilitation professionals such as occupational therapists. Training is not provided in such specialized fields.[79]

In 2019, ICRC supported 16 physical rehabilitation centers, including a Ninawa center in Mosul (since 2018), an ICRC-run center in Erbil, 12 centers run by the Ministry of Health, one run by the Ministry of Defence, and an NGO-run prosthetic/orthotic training facility.[80] Due to limited funding provided by the Kurdistan Regional Government, prosthetic and rehabilitation centers in the region do not have the capacity to meet the needs of mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities, including IDPs.[81]

The center in Mosul, built in 2018 by the ICRC and managed by the Ministry of Health, increased its services in 2019. Construction of a new ICRC physical rehabilitation center in Erbil commenced in November 2019 and was expected to be completed by June 2021.[82]

ICRC supported services for lower-limb amputees at the new center in Mosul in 2019. To address the problem of limited access to rehabilitation services, outreach clinics were held in West Anbar, with patients referred to services in Fallujah.[83] ICRC has also established a “training of trainers” course for prosthetics technicians, and developed a strategy for sustainable training in physical rehabilitation with the health and education ministries.[84] ICRC also provided expert advice and educational materials to seven institutions providing training for physiotherapists and prosthetists, and supported Erbil Polytechnic University to establish a prosthetics and orthotics department.[85]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

A lack of funding for salaries and the impact of the conflict in Iraq has resulted in “a brain-drain of specialized health professionals from the country,” with the Ministry of Health noting that there are only 138 psychiatrists and 60 social workers in the country.[86]

ICRC-trained health workers provided counselling for emotionally-distressed people.[87] The ICRC Mental Health and Psychosocial Support program at the ICRC-run Physical Rehabilitation Center in Erbil provided individual counseling for patients, and training for the physiotherapists treating them. Beneficiaries of ICRC micro-economic initiatives are selected according to vulnerability criteria, and 35% of beneficiaries with disabilities were reported to suffer from conflict-related impairments.[88] HI also provided ongoing psychosocial and psychological support.[89]

Cross-cutting

DMA reported that gender-sensitive services were provided to most women due to the employment of specialized female staff in rehabilitation and medical centers. The same also applied to men.[90] HI worked with humanitarian actors in IDP camps in 2019 to improve the registration of persons with disabilities or injuries, and improve their access to services.[91]