MOZAMBIQUE: UPDATE ON USG HUMANITARIAN DEMINING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MAPUTO 000682

SIPDIS
PASS TO PM/WRA DNETLAND AND PPOPE
AF/S - HTREGER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT EAID KHDP MARR MOPS PREL MZ MAS
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: UPDATE ON USG HUMANITARIAN DEMINING
ASSISTANCE

Summary
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1. PM/WRA Program Officer Deborah Netland and PM/WRA Foreign
Affairs Officer Peggy Pope visited Mozambique April 26 - May

6. During their visit they examined the impact of USG
humanitarian demining assistance and strongly urged the GRM
to play a much more active role in supporting its mine action
program. Although GRM financial and institutional support
for national capacity building has been modest to date, the
GRM appears to be making stronger efforts in the area.
Visits to Department of State (DOS) sites in the northern
provinces of Zambezia and Cabo Delgado showed steady progress
towards reaching targeted task completion dates of 2005 and
2007, respectively. End summary.

Background
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2. Since the 1992 signing of the Rome Peace Accord,
Mozambique has worked to rid itself of land mines laid by
combatants both in the struggle for independence and the
ensuing civil war. The total number of land mines is not
known, but cumulative clearance statistics over the past
decade indicate that the land mine contamination is
significantly less than early estimates of one to two million
mines.


3. The presence, suspected or known, of land mines and
unexploded ordinances (UXOs) has had a direct impact on the
GRM's ability to achieve its poverty reduction objectives,
and remains an obstacle to rural development and
reconstruction efforts. Though demining activity has allowed
rehabilitation of most key transportation links, more
demining must occur to enable farmers to return to extensive
areas of agricultural land, to provide access to water
sources in many areas and to make safe travel along many
tertiary roads. Economic development is the focus of a
substantial amount of USG assistance, and demining assistance
is a key aspect of this effort. To date the USG has provided
Mozambique with over USD 36 million to the country's
Humanitarian Demining Program.


4. According to the National Demining Institute's (IND) 2004
Annual Report, demining operators removed 18,539 mines and
2,712 UXOs in 2004. The IND recorded 13 land mine accidents,
in which three people were killed and 27 injured. Twenty-one
donors provided USD 14.5 million for Mozambique's Mine Action
Program in 2004, including USD 1.5 million provided by the
USG. The GRM provided approximately USD 9 million in support
of IND activities. According to IND's 2005 Mine Action Plan,
15 donors have pledged support of USD 10.6 million, including
USD 2.3 million promised by the USG.

National Capacity Building: FADM Humanitarian Demining Unit
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5. The USG has long recognized the importance of building
and supporting a national capacity for mine clearance in
Mozambique. Since 1993 the USG has contributed more than USD
11 million in the training and equipping of a demining unit
in the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM). Currently made up of
approximately 50 technicians and support staff, this unit is
engaged in mine clearance in Boquisso, Maputo province and
plans to deploy to the Zimbabwe border in mid-2005.


6. To date GRM financial and institutional support for the
FADM demining unit has been limited; virtually all of its
demining funding has been devoted to IND. However, in the
face of decreased donor funding, the GRM appears to be
willing to provide more support. During an April 26 meeting
with Program Officer Netland and Foreign Affairs Officer
Pope, Mozambican Minister of Defense Joaquim Dai pledged to
try to increase capacity within the FADM to support
Mozambique's future mine action needs. He recognized that
NGOs would be exiting Mozambique soon, many as early as next
year, leaving the GRM to deal with any residual land mine
issues. Netland cautioned Minister Dai that expansion of the
current USG program would only occur if the GRM demonstrated
more support (e.g. budget) for maintenance of the existing
unit. (Note: Currently, the DOS program not only provides
essential equipment and training, but it also covers
operational costs such as food stipends and fuel. End note.)
Minister Dai agreed that GRM budget support for the program
was warranted, and stated he would work within his capacity
as a member of the Council of Ministers to address the issue.


7. On April 28, accompanied by Poloff, DATT, RONCO
Contractor Steven Brown, Ministry of Defense Director of
Administration Adelaide Gutha, and Commander of the Practical
Engineering School Colonel Dias, Netland and Pope visited
FADM's National Demining Training Center and nearby
operational site under clearance by the FADM demining unit.
Netland was pleased with the increased level of
professionalism and operational skill demonstrated by the
unit, noting that standard operating procedures, such as
sign-in sheets, were being used, unlike on previous site
visits. In response to requests by Colonel Dias to expand
USG-funded training to an additional two units, Netland
reiterated the need for demonstrated support by the GRM
before growing the program could be considered. Director
Gutha expressed confidence that Minister Dai had picked up on
the message, and stated that the new Guebuza government
considered demining a national priority under its poverty
alleviation plan.


8. During an April 27 meeting with IND Director Gamiliel
Mungumbe, Netland and Pope received further indications that
the Guebuza government intends to make FADM the operational
unit of Mozambique's national demining capacity. He also
stated that demining had been identified as a national
priority by the new administration, which he believed should
facilitate budget support in the future, though he conceded
any provision would initially be modest.

HALO Trust in Zambezia and Cabo Delgado
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9. The GRM's poverty reduction and development strategy
focuses largely on the northern provinces. The presence of
land mines still impedes the continued rehabilitation of
infrastructure and development of fertile agriculture areas,
particularly along the Tanzanian border in Cabo Delgado
province. Three mine belts approximately 100 meters in width
and totaling approximately 96 kilometers in length were laid
with more than 130,000 mines by the Portuguese military
during colonial times. Clearance of these belts is vital to
the facilitation of cross-border trade and increased
agricultural development. HALO Trust is the only long-term
humanitarian demining operator in northern Mozambique. The
DOS currently funds six manual teams at the northern border
in Cabo Delgado and two manual teams in Zambezia province.


10. On May 4, Netland and Pope, accompanied by Poloff and
HALO Trust Country Manager Tim Turner, conducted a site visit
of HALO Trust's northern border operations. As these
minefields were laid in keeping with Geneva Convention
standards (e.g. marked),local residents are aware of their
existence and have remained off the land. However the areas
immediately adjacent to the minefields are fertile and
increasingly cultivated by local peasant farmers. Demand for
land has made the clearance of this area critical to the
economic development of the local population. DOS-funded
teams continue to make steady progress, lifting approximately
2,000 mines and UXOs a month. Despite setbacks, including
the discovery of a two km section of mine belt laid with
undetectable anti-personnel mines, Turner projects a
completion date of early 2007 for the northern border project.


11. Earlier, on May 2, the group visited the operational
site at Derre, Zambezia province. DOS-funded teams were
deployed to the area following a mine accident in 2004, which
occurred 300 meters beyond where HALO ceased clearance
operations in December 2003. Subsequent survey and clearance
of the area uncovered a defensive mine belt laid by FRELIMO
forces during the civil war that, unbeknownst to the local
population, crossed a heavily trafficked pedestrian path
leading from the village chief's home to the central market
area.


12. Clearance in Derre is expected to conclude by late 2005,
with final work done by Japanese-funded teams who will take
over operations once the DOS task order ends on August 31,

2005. With expectations of a mine-safe Zambezia province by
the end of 2005, DOS funding for HALO Trust operations will
be focused on accelerating the northern border clearance
project (Note: The DOS is the currently the sole donor for
the mine removal along the Tanzanian border. End note.)

The Adopt-a-Minefield Experience
--------------

13. On April 27 Netland, Pope and Poloff met with Isabel dos
Santos, IND Program Officer for the Adopt-a-Minefield (AAM)
program to discuss progress on USG-funded AAM clearance
sites. DOS provided USD 68,184 in FY03 to clear three small
minefields in the southern provinces of Maputo and Inhambane.
Though two of the tasks are completed, clearance continues
on the remaining site located in Vilankulos, Inhambane
province. Netland expressed disappointment over the lag
between fund allocation and task completion under the AAM
program. Santos attributed the delay to the AAM's complex
fund disbursement system, which requires monies be funneled
through the UN Association of the United States (UNAUSA) and
UN Development Program (UNDP) in Mozambique before they are
passed to the IND for tasking. Netland stated she was
doubtful DOS would work with the AAM program again unless the
funding mechanism could be streamlined. Santos expressed
hope that AAM would be able to accommodate the needs of DOS,
should funds for the program become available in the future.


14. During an April 29 site visit to the active USG-funded
AAM site, under clearance by NGO Handicap International,
Netland and Poloff received a comprehensive project briefing
and demonstration of the manual mining techniques employed by
HI. Coordinator of Mine Action Planning and Monitoring for
Handicap International (HI) Patricio Bitunga, who accompanied
the delegation, expected the task to be completed by the end
of May. (Comment: As of May 27, clearing was still underway.
End comment.) The site, which lies next to a lake adjoining
the town of Vilanculos, is fertile agricultural land.
Despite warning signs posted in the area, accidents continue
to happen as people attempt to fish and cultivate the
affected land. Poloff will remain in close contact with
Santos and Bitunga to coordinate USG participation in the
formal handover ceremony.

Comment: Next Steps
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15. The planned withdrawal of international demining NGOs
and decreased donor funding for mine action in Mozambique
have pushed the GRM to think more strategically about the
future of its Mine Action Program. For the first time,
significant space has been given to mine action in the new
administration's "Five Year Plan," and there is every
indication that mine action will be streamlined into GRM
policy making. The GRM still faces significant budgetary
constraints, however, and it is unrealistic to expect it will
fund mine action without some continued donor support, at
least in the short- to mid-term. The Embassy will continue
to work with the GRM to build government budget support for
the FADM demining unit to ensure Mozambique is left with an
indigenous demining capacity for long-term application. End
Comment.


16. Netland cleared this message in draft.
La Lime