There is a grave mine problem in Northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), which has been autonomous from Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf War. Unlike in Iraq, there is information available about the scale of the problem:
- about one person a day steps on a mine
in this region;
- the United Nations reports that all
25 districts are mine-affected and that over 148,000 families are affected
-- one in five families; and
- of the 586 victims recorded in the last year, 96% are male and close to 46% are in the age group of 15-29 years of age.
There is no formal diplomatic recognition of the Kurdish Regional Government, so signing the Mine Ban Treaty is not an option. However leaders of the two major Kurdish political parties (the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Front of Kurdistan) have signed up to the principles and obligations of the Mine Ban Treaty.