Recommendations for action

• Armenia should clarify the extent of remaining mine contamination and mobilize the necessary resources to finish clearance.
• Armenia should develop a national mine action strategy and set a deadline for completion of clearance operations.

Contamination

The Republic of Armenia has 6.7km² of confirmed hazardous area (CHA) containing mines and a further 17.3km² of suspected hazardous area (SHA) containing mines, as set out in the table below. The CHAs and SHAs contain either antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, or a combination of antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, and unexploded ordnance (UXO).[1] 

Sixty-three of the 107 CHAs contain antipersonnel mines, totaling just under 3.9km²; as do four of the seven SHAs, totaling just over 13.5km². The breakdown of contamination by type is detailed in the table below.[2]

Contamination as of end 2014[3]

Four of 11 provinces in Armenia still contain CHAs or SHAs containing mines. Three of the four provinces are contaminated with antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, and the fourth province solely with antivehicle mines, as set out in the table below.[4]

Contamination by province as of end 2014[5]

In addition, 14 confirmed areas and six suspected areas contain solely UXO contamination, and no mine contamination. These areas total 1.4km² and 6.4km², respectively, and are located in the provinces of Gegharqunik, Syunik, and Tavush.[6]

Excluding areas containing solely UXO or antivehicle mine contamination, the total combined number of SHAs and CHAs has decreased since 2013, as has the total area of land contaminated with antipersonnel mines. This is the result of cancellation of land through non-technical survey in 2014. Some SHAs were not previously surveyed during non-technical survey in 2012–2013 due to unfavorable weather. Syunik province was surveyed in the summer of 2014, resulting in cancellation of SHAs, as well as the identification of three previously unrecorded CHAs.[7]

The Armenian Centre for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise (ACHDE) reports that there are 34,523 inhabitants in communities impacted by remaining mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination.[8] Priority in clearance is given to agricultural land.[9]

Mine and ERW contamination in Armenia is primarily the consequence of armed conflict with Azerbaijan in 1988–1994, which saw the use of mines by both sides. The most heavily contaminated areas are along the borders and confrontation lines with Azerbaijan, including the area in and around Nagorno-Karabakh and other territories controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Forces. Armenia’s border with Georgia has been cleared of mines, whereas the border with Turkey, also mined during the Soviet era, may still be contaminated.[10] While non-technical survey in 2012–2013 by the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) did not find evidence of mines outside the buffer zones in Ararat province, which borders Turkey, certain areas on the border with Turkey have not yet been surveyed because they are controlled by Russian border troops.[11] 

The 2005 Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) identified 102 SHAs in five districts bordering Azerbaijan. The LIS estimated the extent of contamination at more than 321km², affecting 60 communities.[12] In August 2012, HALO Trust conducted partial survey of 17 sites, cancelling 80% of the area identified by the LIS there. However, HALO activities were suspended following a grant awarded by the United States (US) Department of State to FSD to resurvey Armenia.[13] 

FSD conducted a non-technical survey from November 2012 to May 2013.[14] According to FSD and the ACHDE, the survey found 131 “dangerous areas,” totaling 47km², in four districts bordering Azerbaijan. Thirteen of these areas, totaling 1.8km², were found to contain only UXO and not mines.[15] Of the 131 “dangerous areas,” 17 were SHAs that covered 26km² and 114 were CHAs that covered 21km².[16]

FSD was mandated by the government of Armenia to only survey impacted communities outside the military restricted zone. Therefore, 50 SHAs that fall inside the military perimeter were not included in the survey, which was conducted only within the internationally recognized boundaries of Armenia.[17]

Territory seized from Azerbaijan during the conflict is believed to be significantly contaminated by mines and ERW, including unexploded submunitions.[18] However, the precise extent of contamination in those districts is unknown. 

Program Management

In 2002, the ACHDE was established under the Ministry of Defense as a state agency for mine action activities.[19] In February 2012, the government of Armenia changed the legal status of the ACHDE to a civilian, non-commercial state organization responsible for conducting survey and clearance and identifying contaminated areas. Under its new status, the ACHDE can negotiate with international demining organizations, accept international funding, sign contracts, and receive international assistance.[20] In 2013, a government decree made the ACHDE Armenia’s National Mine Action Centre (see section on Legislation and standards below).[21]

Strategic planning

Armenia does not formally have a national mine action program or strategy.[22] In March 2013, a discussion was held at the Ministry of Defense on the 2012–2013 survey.[23] The chair of the ACHDE’s council, Ara Nazaryan, stated that “the drafting of a national mine action programme, its approval and subsequent implementation are priority tasks for comprehensive demining activities in the territory of the Republic of Armenia.”[24]

Based on the survey findings, the ACHDE will develop a national mine action plan to be submitted to the Armenian government, which will be implemented by the ACHDE following government approval.[25] In 2015, the ACHDE confirmed plans to develop a national mine action program once mine action legislation has been adopted (see below).[26]

In 2014, the ACHDE launched an initiative to help improve efficiency in coordinating and directing mine action operations, and ensure a “realistic” land release policy.[27]

Legislation and standards

In 2013, by government decree, the ACHDE launched the process of developing national mine action legislation. According to the decree, the ACHDE will draft the law and a mine action strategy for discussion among the government in the first half of 2016, in addition to proposing possible amendments to national mine action standards covering explosive ordnance disposal and the use of mine detection dogs.[28]

In 2013, with the assistance of FSD, the ACHDE developed the Armenian National Mine Action Standards (NMAS), and submitted them for government approval. The NMAS were approved by the government in April 2014.[29] With the support of FSD, the ACHDE has set up and manages the national Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database.[30]

Operators

FSD had been present in Armenia since 2012,[31] but withdrew at the end of January 2015 due to lack of funding.[32] From August 2013 to January 2015, FSD implemented a capacity development program, covering basic explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training; mentoring the ACHDE in tasking, planning, quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC); IMSMA; reporting systems and mechanisms; data collection; and support for the elaboration of standing operating procedures (SOPs) and policy.[33]

In mid-2012, HALO briefly operated in Armenia, mainly undertaking non-technical survey. At the end of 2013, it deployed staff to one of Armenia’s affected regions with a view to starting technical survey and clearance.[34] HALO clearance operations began in April 2014 and continued in 2015, with funding secured until July.[35] In addition to its clearance operations, HALO also works to build national capacity in Armenia by training and supervising deminers from the Armenian Peacekeeping Engineering Brigade (PKEB).[36]

Clearance assets deployed in Armenia in 2014, consisted of HALO clearance teams and HALO-led teams from the PKEB of the Armenian Ministry of Defense. HALO deployed two seven-strong manual clearance teams and one three-person mechanical team, operating an armored Volvo frontloader. In addition, HALO led and supervised a further three manual clearance teams, each with seven PKEB deminers. While HALO supervises PKEB deminers in the field, their deployment schedule, support, and staff rotations are determined by the Armenian Ministry of Defense.[37] The PKEB teams worked from April to the end of October 2014, and were then stood down for winter. Clearance operations started up again in May 2015 with the same capacity as in 2014.[38]

In January 2014, the Foundation for Demining and Demolition (FDD) was established as a national, civilian, and non-commercial demining organization in Armenia with support from the ACHDE, Geowulf LLC, FSD, and the government of Armenia.[39] Its main tasks are to conduct demining and destroy expired or obsolete arms and ammunition in Armenia.[40] As of writing, however, FDD had not conducted any operations since its creation,[41] and was seeking funding.[42] 

Quality management

In 2014, with technical support from FSD, a quality management (QM) system was developed, to be implemented in accordance with IMAS and the NMAS. QA is conducted by QA officers through regular field visits to inspect cleared land. In 2014, around 35% of the total area manually cleared was checked.[43]

HALO deploys a supervisor to train PKEB staff in accordance with the IMAS, and to provide ongoing QA. A HALO supervisor is present in the field at all times.[44] The ACHDE conducts regular QA of HALO’s clearance as well as post-clearance quality control.[45] 

The ACHDE is in the process of developing SOPs so a uniform QM system may be applied. The SOPs will outline the responsibilities of the Operations Department personnel responsible for QM, and the drills and procedures to be followed.[46]

Land Release

Total mined area released by clearance in 2014 was 0.04km², compared with no clearance in 2013. A further 13.8km² was cancelled by non-technical survey.[47]

Survey in 2014 

The ACHDE conducted non-technical survey on one SHA in the Syunik marz region of Armenia, resulting in 13.8km² being cancelled. In addition, three mined areas were confirmed, totaling 0.16km².[48] Non-technical survey by the ACHDE in 2014 was enabled by capacity development and training provided by FSD.[49]

Clearance in 2014

HALO started clearance in April 2014, clearing two mined areas during the year in Syunik province, totaling 0.04km², destroying 13 antipersonnel mines and two items of UXO.[50] As of March 2015, clearance of seven mine/UXO contaminated areas was in progress.[51] 

In September 2013, HALO opened an office in the Kapan region in order to initiate its new demining activities under a US$600,000 grant awarded by the US Department of State for a two-year period (August 2013–July 2015).[52] On 1 April 2014, HALO’s demining and survey teams, together with PKEB manual demining and EOD units, started technical survey and clearance near the town of Kapan, in Armenia’s most contaminated region (Syunik).[53]

The project aimed to release 0.1km² of mined area by November 2014 while training PKEB to international standards so that they could manage demining operations by the end of 2015.[54] The 0.04km² cleared in 2014 in two areas falls short of what was envisaged for the year.

Relation to Mine Ban Treaty Article 5

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although Armenia has not joined the Mine Ban Treaty, it voluntarily provides information on antipersonnel mines to the UN and to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for transparency and confidence-building.[55] Whatever information is provided, however, is not publicly available.

One of the objectives of the Armenian Mine Action Strategy 2007–2011was release through technical survey and clearance of 2.2% (7km²) of the SHAs identified by the LIS and 6.8% of the SHAs outside the restricted military zone.[56] Scant progress was made towards these targets.[57] Armenia cites some of the challenges in mine and ERW clearance as being due to low-level contamination, and the random distribution of mines.[58] One of Armenia’s highest priorities for 2015 was demining close to populated areas, and technical survey to better define the borders of mine and UXO-contaminated areas.[59]

Historically, Armenia has not reported systematically on its mine clearance operations, but comprehensive information was provided for 2014. In the past, demining in Armenia has been slow and productivity rates low, with the Ministry of Defense reporting only some 2km² of mined area cleared from 2002 to the end of 2008.[60] During 2013, only non-technical survey was conducted by FSD, with the support of the ACHDE.[61] In April 2014, clearance operations began again in Armenia. Humanitarian demining was not carried out prior to this, due to lack of donor funding.[62]

Mine clearance in 2010–2014[63]