News Magazine - United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea

Transcription

UNMEE NEWS
Published by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
Vets on the frontline
of Peacekeeping
July-August 2007
CONTENTS
UNMEE mandate extended
United Nations Security Council in session
O
n 30 July, the United
Nations Security Council
unanimously agreed to extend the
mandate of the United Nations
Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
(UNMEE) for another six
months, to 31 January 2008. In
light of the continuing stalemate
in the peace process, Resolution
1767 (2007) urged Ethiopia and
Eritrea to “show maximum
restraint and refrain from any
threat or use of force against
each other.”
The Security Council
demanded that Eritrea withdraw
UNMEE News
Editor-in-Chief
Ian Steele
Editor
Napoleon Viban
Contributing Writers
in this Edition
Napoleon Viban
Kumera Gemechu
Design and Layout
Napoleon Viban
Contact us:
The Editor, UNMEE News
PO Box 5805 Asmara, Eritrea
Phone: (291) 1-15 04 11 (Ext 6134)
email: [email protected]
Printers
MBY Publishing and
Printing Centre, Asmara
UNMEE NEWS July-August 2007
its troops and heavy military
equipment from the Temporary
Security Zone (TSZ).
The Council also called on
Ethiopia to reduce the number of
additional military forces it
recently introduced in certain
areas adjacent to the TSZ.
Regretting the continuing
impasse on the border
demarcation process, the
Security Council called on the
two parties to implement the
decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia
Boundary Commission (EEBC)
completely and without further
delay or preconditions.
They were urged to cooperate
with the EEBC and, in particular,
to participate “constructively and
with sufficient authority” in a
meeting which the Commission
plans to hold on 6 September in
New York.
In this issue …
UNMEE Mandate Extended
2
Building on Peace
3
UNMEE’s Humanitarian Outreach
4
Helicopters to the Rescue
6
The Healing Power of Music
7
Vets on the Frontline of Peacekeeping (cover story)
8
Livestock and Livelihoods
10
Rains Heighten Mine Risks in Ethiopia and Eritrea
11
$300m Shortfall on Funding for Landmine Action this Year
12
Women in UN Peacekeeping
14
Cover Photo: Herders and livestock at a veterinary camp organised
by UNMEE’s Indian Battalion (Indbatt-6) in Edaga Hamus,
Ethiopia.
2
SPOTLIGHT
UN Peacekeepers Day in Asmara: Eritrean school children entertain UNMEE guests
Building on Peace
I
n Ethiopia and Eritrea, local the challenges they face are
authorities have welcomed enormous.
“We face many problems,”
UNMEE’s efforts to help with
the post-war reconstruction, but Mayor Sahleselassie Teka of
Adigrat, Ethiopia told
UNMEE News during the
International Day of UN
Peacekeepers 2007. “Our
problems are vast in the
spheres of education,
health, water supply and
road infrastructure.”
Take
classroom
overcrowding: “For want of
infrastructure,
our
classrooms average 80-90
students, whereas the
standard is about 50-55 per
classroom,” said Mayor
Teka. “Of course, it is the
responsibility of our
government to tackle these
problems, but we also look
to the intervention of
UNMEE and other external
Indbatt medics attend to a patient at the
organisations for help.”
medical camp in Tsorena, Eritrea
Adigrat Mayor Sahleselassie Teka
UNMEE has in fact focused on
this particular problem, helping
with the construction or repair of
school buildings and the supply
of furniture. The Indian Battalion,
which mans all of Sector Centre
and Sub Sector East. The Sector
Headquarters in Adigrat, has also
made medical and dental care and
veterinary services an ongoing
feature of its operations in
Ethiopia. The appreciation that
local populations have for this
assistance was reflected on
Peacekeepers Day in May when
a troupe from the Adigrat Youth
Association and about a thousand
3
pupils of the Wolwalu Primary
CONTENTS
School danced alongside troops
from the Kenyan, Jordanian and
Indian Contingents.
Just days before, doctors and
nurses from the Indian Battalion
also sought and received local
administration approval for a
medical and dental camp in
Tsorena, Eritrea. In all, 470
people received free treatment at
the one-day camp on 20 May
2007. Encouraged by the success
of this operation, the Indian
medics are contemplating
similar camps in other Eritrean
localities, including Adi Quala,
Mendefera, Mai Ani, Adi Keyh
and Senafe.
School children featured
prominently
in
the
A dance troupe from the Jordanian Battalion performs at a cultural
evening on UN Peacekeepers Day in Asmara
commemoration of UN
Peacekeepers Day at UNMEE’s
main Headquarters in Asmara,
Eritrea and in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. More than 500 primary
school children joined members
of the diplomatic corps for the
commemoration in Asmara.
___________________________
UNMEE’s humanitarian outreach
A
t the height of the
devastating Ethiopian
famine of 1986, Mother Teresa
established an orphanage in the
northern Ethiopian town of
Mekelle. Its doors are still open,
thanks to financial support from
the Rome House of the
Missionaries of Charity, which
relies on global donations and
support from newcomers like
UNMEE. For the past three
years, the Level 1 Plus Hospital
of the Indian Battalion
(INDBATT) in Adigrat has
provided regular medical
services to the orphanage and,
occasionally, food items and
equipment.
Sister Sheila, who with Sisters
Firmina and Gisela have managed
to keep hope alive for hundreds
of children as well as the aged
and infirm in Mekelle, look far
and wide for assistance. Sister found them abandoned in public
Sheila says that the House of the spaces. Elsewhere, a variety of
Missionaries of Charity wards are filled to capacity with
sometimes has to beg when the
needs become overwhelming.
“Now and then we receive
donations of fruits and vegetables
from people of humble means,
but who have a kind heart,” she
says. “At least once a month,
UNMEE doctors come here to
examine our patients and provide
them with medicines. We are
very grateful for the help and we
hope that UNMEE will continue
in the same spirit, because the
poor are always at our doors.”
Behind those doors, a visitor
finds the Missionaries’ maternal
unit and about a dozen cots
tightly arranged in a modest room
occupied by babies of no more
than 3-4 months. Most were
Sister Sheila with an orphan
brought there by passersby who
4
more than 400 dependents –
children, adults and the elderly –
all looking to the Missionaries
of Charity for life’s basic
necessities.
“We are all nurses, but we
depend on external help for cases
which we cannot handle,” says
Sister Sheila who notes that the
orphanage also gets medical
support from the Mekelle
General Hospital. “Sometimes
we can have as many as 600
people in here. Our doors are
always open … even when the
house is full. Even when our beds
are all taken up, we spread out
mats on the floor to
accommodate new arrivals.”
Lt. Colonel Shaidar of
INDBATT says the sacrifices of
the Sisters have been an
inspiration. “When we first
visited the orphanage in Mekelle
we were deeply moved by the
work of the Missionaries there,”
he said. “Our doctors, dentists
and veterinarians go at least once
SPOTLIGHT
The Matron of the Missionaries of Charity orphanage in Mekelle receives
a wheelchair donated by the Indian Battalion
a month to treat the sick and
attend to their animals. To the
extent that we can, we also
provide food assistance, clothing
and handling equipment,
including wheelchairs and
crutches… Just anything we can
afford.”
These children depend on the Mekelle Missionaries of Charity for food, water and shelter
5
CONTENTS
Helicopters to the rescue
URUCON Bell-212 helicopter in flight
H
elicopters are essential to
the mobility and safety of
UNMEE field operations. They
bridge vast stretches of terrain
that is inaccessible by road or by
conventional aircraft, carrying
personnel and equipment and
acting as ambulances when
accidents or illnesses in the field
require an evacuation to hospital.
“The Military Observers out
there in the field are confident
that we can come to their rescue
anywhere, anytime,” says Lt
Colonel Gualdemar Gutierrez,
commander of the Uruguayan
Contingent (URUCON) that
operates and maintains the
Mission’s helicopters. He notes,
however, that since Eritrea
banned UN helicopter flights
from its airspace, including the
Temporary Security Zone (TSZ)
on 5 October 2005, the
operations of URUCON have
been confined to territory
outside the TSZ.
“We still have the capability to
fly the number of hours we used
to fly prior to the ban, but we
cannot support units on the other
side of the border,” Colonel
Gutierrez says. “Half of the
Mission is beyond our reach.”
Deployed in February 2003, the
URUCON flight crew, engineers,
maintenance specialists and
support personnel are from the
Uruguayan Air Force. URUCON
also has two Staff Officers, seven
Officers and 26 NonCommissioned Officers.
A URUCON Medevac team is
on standby round the clock and
can be airborne with just 20
minutes notice by day and one
hour at night.
The fleet includes two Bell212 Helicopters with a lift-off
weight of 4,536 kg. The choppers
have a speed of 90 knots and a
range of 500 kilometres.
“We can move people from far
away areas like Humera and get
them over to Adigrat in just four
hours,” Lt Col Gutierrez says.
“What’s more, we fly with a
Jordanian medical team, which
can attend to medical cases even
while we’re airborne.”
URUCON has night vision
capability and about twenty-five
percent of more than 40 medical
evacuations in the last four years
have been at night.
In addition to medical
evacuations, URUCON provides
passenger transportation for
Mission personnel. From its
operational base in Axum,
Ethiopia, it operates six shuttleflights to and from Humera, Adi
Asmeron, Shiraro, Inda-Selasie,
Mekelle and Adigrat.
URUCON medevac squad in action
6
The Healing Power
of Music
A
song by an Eritrean artist was
topping the charts in Ethiopia,
even as the border war broke out in
May 1998. In one evening, DJs in
Addis Ababa clubs would play
Weynaye Weynaye several times
over! The video clip was also aired
often on Ethiopian Television. And
another song from Eritrea, Mizu
Mizu, was late last year animating
homes and nightclubs in the Ethiopian
capital.
Ethiopian artists are no less popular
in Eritrea, especially in Asmara. In an
interview with UNMEE News,
Ethiopian singer Hamelmal Abate
said she was aware that fans enjoy
her music in the Eritrean capital.
“Music can bring the spirits of
people together,” Hamelmal said.
“When two people in different
Hamelmal Abate
locations happen to be singing my
song, they share the same spirit at that
particular time. They’re singing and
thinking about the same thing.”
Music, she said, can effectively be
used to mobilise people and bring
about change. Hamelmal believes that
musicians have the influence – and
responsibility – to help reconcile the
peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea. She
lamented, however, that artists in the
two countries do not seem to be
aware of this potential, and were
therefore not actively pushing for
peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
“I’m surprised that our artists are
not addressing the conflict between
Ethiopia and Eritrea. We should do
everything we can, to change the
situation,” she urged, noting that the
language of music was, after all
universal. Music, she maintained, can
transcend political barriers and ethnic
cleavages: “For instance, when I sing
my Oromiffa songs on stage in the
Amhara region, people swing to the
music and sing along with me. Even
when they do not understand the
language, you’d find them mouthing
the lyrics.”
The singer said that in her thoughts
she focuses on the future. She said it
was time to stop moaning about what
happened and to work instead
towards peace: “We should stop
blaming each other,” Hamelmal said.
Eritrean singer, Abeba Haile echoes
similar sentiments. Although love for
country has been the dominant theme
in her musical career, which spans
close to 20 years, she has of late been
looking beyond the borders of Eritrea
and worrying about the turbulence in
the Horn.
Her latest release, Africa, blends
in with the crusade for continental
SPOTLIGHT
Abeba Haile
peace and unity. “Let Africa have
peace; Let Africa have prosperity;
Let Africa have light; let’s hope
Africa’s dreams come true …” Abeba
implores.
Like her Ethiopian counterpart,
Abate too recognises the potential for
music to cut through nationality, creed
and other barriers: “An album which
I produced in 1996 – before the
border war – sold widely in both
Eritrea and Ethiopia. And while
visiting in America recently, I learnt
that my songs continue to have a
wide appeal in Ethiopia,” Abeba told
UNMEE News in Asmara. She
contended that there was more in
common between the people of
Eritrea and Ethiopia, than there were
differences between them.
“We have many similarities,
especially in the food we eat, and in
the way we dress,” she quipped. And
looking at the bigger picture, Abeba
was emphatic about the import of
peace in the development of both
countries. “Anything is possible
where there is peace. Let us hope that
UNMEE will bring us peace,” she
said.
7
CONTENTS
Partial view of the turnout at a veterinary camp which the Indian Battalion organised in Edaga Hamus
Vets on the Frontline of Peacekeeping
A
digrat, Ethiopia - Ask anyone
within a day’s walk of this
sprawling Ethiopian town to name
just one UN organization and they will
almost certainly tell you “UNMEE.”
They might not be able to tell you
much about the peacekeeping role of
the uniformed men and women they
see on the roads and byways, but
they will be able to tell you what the
the Sector Centre Headquarters of
the Indian Battalion (INDBATT) on
Peacekeepers Day this year, put it
this way: “I could mention their
intervention in the education system,
providing schools with furniture, and
I could mention their community
medical assistance, but most
outstanding has been the provision of
veterinary services to the local
community,” he said.
Evidence
of
UNMEE’s engagement
with
the
local
community
was
everywhere
on
Peacekeepers Day - in
the camp’s health and
dental clinics which
INDBATT opens to the
public and in the smiling
faces of more than
1,000 schoolchildren
who turned out to join
Veterinary Assistant, Warrant Officer Lal Bihari Pal
the peacekeepers in
attends to a family’s goats in Bizet, Ethiopia
their commemoration of
visitors in the blue berets mean to fallen comrades. But most striking,
their families and their livelihoods.
was the scene at a simple installation
The Mayor of Adigrat, Mr. on a hillside by the camp’s main
Sahleselassie Teka, who was visiting thoroughfare, where children, elderly
ladies and farmers had been gathering
patiently since early morning to have
their animals attended to by an
UNMEE veterinarian.
Successive Battalions of the Indian
contingent have run a Veterinary
Lt Col Ravi Girdhar, Head of
Indbatt veterinary clinic
Hospital in Adigrat, tailoring their
services to the pressing needs of local
breeders.
UNMEE provided similar services
to farmers in Eritrea up to 2006, when
the authorities in Asmara terminated
them.
Lt Col Ravi Girdhar is currently in
charge of the veterinary facility in
Adigrat.
8
“The health situation within my
herd has greatly improved since the
arrival of Dr Girdhar,” said Hailu Ole
Mariam, a local farmer. “Before,
things were pretty bad with my
animals.”
Hailu’s cows, sheep and goats are
among frequent visitors to the
INDBATT clinic which is open from
Monday through Saturday. Farmers
and their ailing livestock gather in a
meadow that serves as a ‘waiting
room’ just below the clinic. Most
arrive at daybreak but to secure a
position at the front of the queue,
some shepherds bring their animals
in the night before and spend the
evening in the open with them.
The daily turnout can be almost
overwhelming. “We receive almost
400 animals per day,” says Dr
Girdhar. “One reason why our clinic
is so popular in the vicinity is that
there is no government veterinary
infrastructure within a radius of about
120 km.’ At the Peacekeepers Day
veterinary camp on 31 May, more
than 600 animals ranging from
chickens to long horn cattle, were
treated.
Dr Girdhar admits that any
veterinary facility that provides
services free of charge to small
breeders must expect to
SPOTLIGHT
receive them in droves.
Hailu explains that other
veterinary services in
the area charge about
15 Birr (about US$2)
per animal for each
injection or vaccination
and this is far beyond
the means of most of
the peasant farmers in
and around Adigrat. But
an equally compelling
reason for farmers to
Students from Mekelle University take practical
visit the INDBATT drills at the Indbatt veterinary hospital in Adigrat
clinic is the fact that
veterinary services throughout the 2006), Mugolat (13 October 2006)
area are limited and public veterinary and Zela Ambessa (24 October
clinics often refer their difficult cases 2006). In Bizet, almost 2,000
animals, including 222 cows, 1,668
to Dr. Girdhar.
The reputation of the INDBATT sheep and goats, 42 horses and
veterinary hospital extends beyond donkeys, 42 fowls and a dog were
Adigrat. “From the adjoining areas, treated. Other successful veterinary
we receive a lot of sheep and goats,” camps were organised in Edaga
Dr Girdhar says, noting that most of Hamus on 8 December 2006 and on
the small ruminants treated at the the outskirts of the city of Mekelle
hospital come from the neighbouring on 28 February of this year.
INDBATT’s field camps are
villages. “We regularly conduct
veterinary camps in the hinterland,” organised in close collaboration with
local authorities who identify areas
he says.
In 2006 the INDBATT veterinary most in need. The local
team set up three field camps over a administrations frequently choose the
two-week period in Bizet (9 October location of the camp and provide
Herded into the “waiting room” of the Indbatt Veterinary Clinic in Adigrat, Ethiopia
9
water and electricity to support
CONTENTS
INDBATT’s services. “We handle the
technical aspects of the operation,
providing the manpower, the
expertise, the equipment and the
medicines,” Dr Girdhar said.
Training
The Indian Battalion has been
multiplying its services by providing
veterinary training for local volunteers
who learn the basics of veterinary care
while helping with operations at the
Veterinary Hospital. The Hospital has
also become a centre par excellence
for Veterinary students from the
University of Mekelle, Ethiopia. The
students do field work with
INDBATT as part of an exchange
programme with the University.
Under this arrangement, they observe
surgery and other activities at the
Hospital and some volunteer to work
at the INDBATT veterinary hospital
during their holidays.
Livestock and livelihoods
Sheep ruminating on pasture just below the Indbatt veterinary
clinic in Adigrat. Children in the neighbourhood often bring in
the family’s flock for deworming
L
ike most Ethiopians, the local people of Adigrat
are heavily dependent on livestock for their survival.
Ethiopia has the largest livestock reserves in Africa and the 10th
largest in the world. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation (CSIRO) and other agencies, estimate the
country’s livestock reserves at 41 million cattle, 26 million sheep,
23 million goats, 7 million horses, 2 million camels and 52 million
poultry.
Agriculture accounts for 90 percent of Ethiopia’s exports and up to
80 percent of the rural population depends on animals for sustenance.
This is why the smallholder livestock industry is key not only to the
people’s livelihood but also to social stability in the country.
“Cattle, sheep, chickens and camels play a vital role in the
smallholder economy and culture of the people,” notes The New
Agriculturist in a Country Profile on Ethiopia this year, adding: “they
are often unable to support themselves economically once their
animals die.”
This explains perhaps why UNMEE’s humanitarian intervention in

Adigrat has been so widely appreciated.
INDBATT is also helping to
strengthen veterinary capacity in the
region by offering refresher courses
to practising professionals. From 30
May to 1 June 2007, 26 local
professionals, including five fullfledged veterinary doctors attended
an INDBATT workshop at the
Sector Centre Headquarters in
Adigrat. The focus was on Livestock
Sustenance and it was held in
collaboration with the Tigray Regional
Bureau of Agriculture. Participants
welcomed the initiative and asked if
future workshops could run for two
or three weeks and include practicals.
Dr Kebede Woldegiorgis, Head of
the Animal Health section at the
Tigray Bureau of Agriculture says the
veterinary assistance provided by
UNMEE has, among other benefits,
helped improve the management of
animal parasites in the region.
He concedes that the capacity and
infrastructure to deal with the
problems locally are limited. Dr
Woldegiorgis cites the absence of
well-equipped veterinary clinics, and
lack of trained manpower, especially
Doctors of Veterinary Medicine and
animal health assistants.
“Still, our services are not that bad,”
the regional veterinary chief insists.
“Currently, the vaccination coverage
in our region is about 33 per cent,
and treatment coverage hovers
around 21-22 percent. In the last ten
years there has been some increase
in our disease control programme in
the region.”
Dr. Woldegiorgis says there has
been an improvement, especially in
the management of internal and
external parasites, since the arrival of
INDBATT.
“The veterinary clinic of the Indian
Battalion in Adigrat provides basic
treatment against internal and external
parasites, and assists us with drugs,”
he notes thankfully. “Up to 50,000
animals have been treated at the
clinic, and this is very helpful to us
and to the local communities.”
10
SPOTLIGHT
Rains Heighten Mine Risks in
Ethiopia and Eritrea
Anti-tank mines washed downhill in Sector Centre by torrential rains
W
ith the rainy season peaking
in Ethiopia and Eritrea, the
Mine Action Coordination Centre
(MACC) in UNMEE has warned
that landmines and other
unexploded devices might wash
Adi Takalo mine incident: civilian truck mired in the riverbed
after hitting anti-tank mine
up in unexpected places. Civilian
populations in both countries are
at increased risk, as torrents
wash landmines down from the
hills to low-lying areas – some of
which might have been cleared
previously and considered safe.
“Recent flooding may have
caused many mines or
unexploded ordnance to wash
down from higher ground,
creating a potential risk at
crossing points,” the MACC
warned in July.
The Centre cautioned motorists
to stay on frequently traveled
roads, just one week after an
Ethiopian civilian truck struck an
anti-tank mine at a small river
crossing close to the outlying
village of Adi Takalo, some 42
kilometres northwest of Shiraro.
Assefa Alemu, 36, was
negotiating a river crossing off the
11
main road from Shiraro when the
CONTENTS
right rear wheel of his heavy duty
truck hit the mine. He escaped
unhurt, but the blast ripped off
the wheel and debris from the
explosion was found up to 30
metres from the edge of the
crater.
“Probably, recent flooding in
the area brought the mine to its
present position,” MACC
investigators suggested in a
preliminary report.
The steep topography of the
Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands
makes sandy riverbeds a natural
deposit for migrating mines and
other unexploded ordnance. Both
countries rank among the most
heavily mined nations in the
world, with millions of
unexploded mines and other
remnants of war still active years
after the conflicts between them
ended.
“People just have to be more
vigilant at this time of the rains,”
cautions Ms. Daniela Silva of the
MACC. Investigators of the
mishap in Adi Takalo noted that
since the onset of this year’s
rains, more than five mine
incidents have been registered
around Shiraro alone. Most of
them have been on the main road,
which is routinely checked for
mines.
MACC officials also note that
the heavy rains have forced them
to reduce their operations
considerably.
“At the moment we are
operating at less than 50 percent
of our capacity,” said Ms. Silva.
“The rainy season impacts heavily
on mechanical demining. The
terrain gets too slippery for our
machines to have proper traction.
The situation can also be quite
challenging for MACC’s mine
detection dogs. Basically, they
cannot smell landmines when it
rains.”
Since the start of the wet
season, the MACC has stepped
up its public education efforts to
warn local populations to be
especially vigilant for landmines
that might have been dislodged by
the rains and swept into the paths
of unsuspecting travelers.
Adi Takalo mine incident: Close-up view of the truck’s
shattered right rear wheel
An UXO found on the roadside in the aftermath of a heavy downpour
Mechanical demining in the dry season. MACC officials say
the rainy season limits these operations
12
SPOTLIGHT
$300m shortfall on funding for
landmine action this year
M
ore than a hundred
nongovernmental
organizations, national authorities and
UN agencies are engaged this year
in programmes that tackle problems
associated with landmines and
explosive remnants of war in 29
countries. However, a Portfolio of
Mine Action Projects for 2007
published jointly by the United
Nations Mine Action Service in the
Department of Peacekeeping
Operations, the UN Development
Programme, and UNICEF indicates
a funding shortfall of $317.5 million
dollars for their efforts.
The Portfolio includes 300
proposals covering all five “pillars” of
mine action: clearance and marking
of hazardous areas, mine risk
education, victim assistance,
destruction of stockpiled landmines,
and advocacy for international
agreements related to landmines and
explosive remnants of war. Less than
$112 m of the proposed budget of
$429 million is currently in hand.
Landmines and explosive remnants
of war continue to kill or injure
thousands of people annually and
about one in five casualties is a child.
works to protect the mobility and
safety of the UN peacekeeping force
in the Temporary Security Zone and
adjacent areas by detecting and
clearing mines and other unexploded
ordnance. It also has responsibility
for educating local populations on the
risks posed by unexploded mines in
their communities.
Between November 2000 and 17
May 2007, MACC:
· demined 70,816,754 sq. meters
of land;
· cleared mines from 24,789
kilometers of road;
· destroyed 6,016 anti personnel
mines and 2,035 anti tank mines;
· destroyed 56,162 items of
unexploded ordnance;
· conducted Mine Risk Education
for 442,757 civilians in the Mission
area.
2007 Portfolio
The 2007 Portfolio was launched
just months after the entry into force
on 12 November 2006, of a new
international agreement, Protocol V
on Explosive Remnants of War of
the Convention on Certain
Conventional Weapons. Twenty-six
of the 29 countries or territories
participating in the Portfolio indicate
having problems with explosive
remnants of war.
“Protocol V will help the United
Nations and its partner organizations
accelerate clean-up of explosive
remnants of war after a conflict,” says
UN Mine Action Service Director
Maxwell Gaylard. “Participating
countries agree to provide information
about where they might have used
weapons such as cluster bombs that
leave behind unexploded ordnance.
This will make it easier to conduct
mine risk education, provide landmine
safety training for humanitarian and
peacekeeping personnel, and locate
and remove the threat.”
Countries in Africa account for the
largest number of projects (127) in
the Portfolio. Asian countries account
for the largest share of the funding
appeal: US$189 million.
Ethiopia and Eritrea
In the Temporary Security Zone
monitored by UNMEE, almost
700,000 civilians are directly at risk
of injury and death from mines which
date from the 19th Century and the
first and second World Wars. Many
of these weapons were laid during the
1998-2000 border war and still more
landmines were being planted by
clandestine groups that are interested
to ensure that the region does not
have peace.
UNMEE’s Mine Action
Coordination Centre (MACC)
Remnants of war: unexploded ordnance packed ready for destruction
13
CONTENTS
Women in UN Peacekeeping
F
rom the earliest days of UNMEE,
troop contributing countries have
included women in their contingents.
However, in UNMEE as in other UN
peacekeeping missions around the
world, the men far outnumber the
women. As of June this year, women
accounted for about two percent (1,411)
of a total of 73,918 peacekeepers
deployed in 18 UN peacekeeping
missions globally.
The relatively small number of women
in peacekeeping service does not tell the
whole story, however. Women in
UNMEE and elsewhere serve in all
capacities, from military observation on
the harshest checkpoints or team sites,
to medical services under very
challenging field conditions.
As of June this year, there were three
women Staff Officers in the UNMEE Corporal Monica Maget on guard duty at the camp of the Kenyan
Force – one each from India, Namibia Guard and Administration Company (KenCoy) in Asmara, Eritrea:
and Tanzania. There were six female
Military Observers, including three from Tanzania and one particular, has consistently deployed the highest numbers
each from Namibia, South Africa and Sweden. Among the of women in UNMEE, to the admiration of their
Contingent troops were three women in the Indian Battalion counterparts from other countries.
“When I saw Kenyan women soldiers guarding the
and seven others in the Kenyan Contingent. Kenya, in
Staff Officers Camp and UNMEE Headquarters in
Asmara, I thought they looked really professional and
smart,” said Major Nikahat Jahan of the Indian Battalion
(Indbatt-6), as she checked out of the Mission at the
end of a one-year tour of duty as an anaesthetist. “When
I arrived in the Mission, it became clear to me that the
women members of Indbatt and the Kenyan Company
(KENCOY) were doing the things that men do.” Major
Jahan worked at the Indbatt Level One Plus Hospital at
the Sector Centre Headquarters of Adigrat in Ethiopia.
Coming from a military culture where women and men
were already on equal footing in terms of Command
positions, Major Jahan said the presence of women
soldiers in the rank and file at UNMEE not only made a
strong impression on her, but sealed the argument for
gender equality in every field of human endeavour.
She cited the deployment in Liberia of a 125-strong
all-woman Indian Contingent drawn from the Central
Reserve Police Force and experienced in counterinsurgency operations. The Contingent was deployed
there as part of a special rapid reaction force to control
Maj N. Jahan (right) and Capt B. Joshi (left)
riots and to train the local police.
14
Gender Statistics, UN Peacekeeping Operations - 30 June 2007
SPOTLIGHT
Military Personnel
(Observers, Staff Officers, Troops)
Male
Female
Total
Peacekeeping Mission
UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF)
UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)
UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL)
UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE)
UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN)
UN Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS)
UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT)
UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP)
UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI)
UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG)
UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO)
4
225
6,940
17,039
14
230
1,026
808
12,889
15
1,665
36
13,878
130
9,307
32
43
7,962
123
141
0
7
125
309
0
0
17
49
397
0
19
1
273
12
108
1
1
76
7
9
4
232
7,065
17,348
14
230
1,043
857
13,286
15
1,684
34
14,151
142
9,415
33
44
8,038
130
150
Total
72,507
1,411
73,918
UN Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB)
UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
UN Stabilisation Mission in Haïti (MINUSTAH)
UN Organisation Mission in the Dem. Rep. of Congo (MONUC)
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)
Source: Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)
“In the face of difficulties on the ground in Liberia,
women officers were considered better at dealing
with the situation,” she said: “I think that the notion
of gender susceptibilities lies only in the minds of
people.”
Checking out alongside Major Jahan was fellow
medic, Captain Bhumeshwary Joshi, a specialist in
Operation Theatre Management and Administration.
She too was unequivocal about women’s ability to
meet all of the challenges in peacekeeping.
“Of course, women tend to be more attached to
their families, but we are no less resilient than the
men, when it comes to coping with the pressures of
working away from home,” Captain Joshi said. “Yes,
things do get pretty difficult sometimes. I left a fourand-half year old daughter back home. But we all
have to put up with the sacrifices incidental to our
work.”
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
currently has the highest presence of women in
contingent deployments, with 397 women in a
13,286-strong force. Other Missions with women
deployments in the hundreds included the UN
Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (MONUC) with 309 women, the UN
Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) with 273, the UN
Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) with
125, and the UN Mission in Sudan with 108.
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or to
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Ethiopia. E-mail:[email protected],
Telephone:+251 13726895 extension 7096
15
CONTENTS
A sword dancer of the
Hidareb – one of the
country’s nine ethnic groups
– performing at this year’s
‘Festival Eritrea’. This
annual cultural jamboree
was held in the capital,
Asmara, from 28 July to 5
August.