Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline: 1 June 2021
(Not on track to meet deadline)

Recommendation for action

• Chile should take the necessary measures to identify more accurately the extent of contamination and then address its cluster munition remnant-contaminated areas in a timely manner. 

Contamination

Chile is contaminated by antipersonnel and antivehicle mines. Chile is also affected, to a limited extent, by explosive remnants of war (ERW), including cluster munition remnants.

Mine contamination

Chile has more than 9.9km² of confirmed hazardous area (CHA) containing mines and almost 3.28km² of suspected hazardous area (SHA), as set out in the table below. Contamination is from both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines.[1]

Five of the 15 regions in Chile still contain confirmed or suspected hazardous areas containing mines. Arica and Parinacota in northern Chile is the most mine-affected region with 33 CHAs over 8.4km², which represents more than 60% of its total remaining contamination. 

Contamination by province as of end 2014[2]

The mines were all laid during the Pinochet regime in the 1970s on Chile’s borders with Argentina, in the south, and with Bolivia and Peru in the north. The mined areas are generally difficult to access and mostly in unpopulated regions. The vast majority of the mines were laid in the northern region, with some minefields located as high as 5,000m above sea level.[3]

Cluster munition contamination 

Chile has up to 97km² of area contaminated with cluster munition remnants. It is also affected, to a limited extent, by other unexploded remnants of war (UXO), with some 13km² of mined areas to release. 

Three of 15 regions in Chile still contain areas with cluster munition remnants (see table below). Contaminated areas are all located at military training bases where ammunition and munitions were used during training exercises. The contaminated area reported by Chile represents the total size of the training area where cluster munitions were used.[4] The precise extent of cluster munition remnant contamination within the training area may well be smaller and will be determined through technical survey and clearance. 

Cluster munition remnants contamination by province as of June 2015[5]

Program Management 

The national mine action program is managed by the National Demining Commission (Comisión Nacional de Desminado, CNAD), which is chaired by the Minister of Defense. Its main functions are to advise the president, mobilize resources, coordinate demining with state agencies, and develop plans for implementing the Mine Ban Treaty.[6]

Demining is conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Navy Peace and Demining Division (POMTA).

Chile reported developing a joint demining manual text for its armed forces in 2014, in which procedures for the destruction of UXO were included.[7]

Land Release (mines)

Total mined land released by clearance in 2014 was 2.1km². Twenty-six mined areas were cleared and 10,523 antipersonnel mines and 6,541 antivehicle mines were destroyed (see table below). In 2014, Chile’s demining capacity consisted of seven mechanical assets, and a total capacity of 191 people was dedicated to clearance operations.[8]

Mine clearance in 2014[9]

Chile did not provide an annual clearance total for 2013. Its April 2014 Article 7 report just mentioned that 0.4km² were cleared in the two regions of Arica and Parinacota and Magallanes and Antartica Chilena and that three mined areas were released in Antofagasta.[10] Chile also explained that several areas in Antofagasta collapsed due to snow and severe rainfalls in 2013 causing demining units to be moved to other areas, stopping demining efforts for several months.[11]

With about 2km² cleared in 2014, only half of Chile’s 2014 clearance target, as set out in its workplan 2010–2020, had been achieved (4.2km² were planned to be cleared). 

Land Release (cluster munition remnants)

Chile has not reported on any steps taken to elaborate a workplan to address its four cluster munition-contaminated areas. As of June 2015, Chile has not conducted any clearance of these four areas nor has it carried out the necessary survey.[12]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the eight-year extension granted by States Parties in 2011), Chile is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2020. Chile is on track to meet its extended deadline. 

As of end 2014, remaining contamination covered approximately 13.2km² across a total of 71 areas; this implies that Chile needs to clear approximately 2km² per year to meet its 2020 deadline, which seems achievable based on 2014 clearance results. In February 2015, Colonel Juan Mendoza, CNAD’s executive secretary, was quoted in the media as saying that “We have made progress at an annual rate of 10 percent, which leads us to believe that we will meet the deadline.”[13]

Chile’s latest extension indicated that 199 mined areas covering 23.3km² across six regions were emplaced and registered by the armed forces in the 1970s. The mined areas were said to contain a total of 181,814 antipersonnel and antivehicle mines.[14] The request included a workplan for 2010–2020 containing annual projections, according to which, by 2018, Chile should have cleared all its mined areas except those in the region of Magallanes and Antartica Chilena.[15] Chile cited difficult climatic conditions and terrain, remote mined areas in high altitudes, and extreme environments as the main reasons for requesting additional time.[16] 

On 2 March 2015, the Ministry of Defense declared the island Tierra del Fuego, in the region of Magallanes and Antartica Chilena, free of mines, and reported that at national level, more than 96,000 mines had been destroyed, representing almost 53% of Chile’s target.[17]

Weather and terrain challenges faced by demining teams have seriously affected the development of demining operations, especially in the north of the country.[18] Indeed, in November 2014, Colonel Mendoza was quoted saying that meeting the 2020 deadline “will be the big challenge. If we have normal circumstances we think we can get it done.”[19] 

According to its extension request, Chile intended to cover the full cost of meeting its Article 5 obligations, which was estimated at US$61 million.[20] Since 2003, the government of Chile has provided almost all funding towards its own mine action program, having not received international funding since 2007.

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 Compliance

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Chile is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 June 2021. It has still to take concrete action to implement this obligation.