Contaminated by: landmines (light contamination), cluster munition remnants (medium contamination), other unexploded ordnance (UXO), and abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO). 

Kosovo cannot accede to the Mine Ban Treaty or the Convention on Cluster Munitions due to its political status

At the end of 2015, mine contamination covered 2.5km². Almost 0.22km² was cleared, with the destruction of 41 antipersonnel mines (no mines were found in three clearance tasks). 25,000m² was canceled by non-technical survey (NTS).

At the end of 2015, contamination from cluster munition remnants covered an estimated 16km², double the size reported at the end of 2014. A total of 0.34km² of cluster munition-contaminated area was cleared in 2015, and 8.9km² was confirmed by NTS as cluster munition contaminated. 

Recommendation for action

• The Kosovo authorities should make a formal commitment to respect and implement the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions and to clear all landmines and cluster munition remnants as soon as possible.

Contamination

Kosovo is contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), including cluster munition remnants, primarily as a result of the conflict between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the late 1990s, and between FRY and NATO member states in 1999.[1]

The UN reported in 2002 that “the problems associated with landmines, cluster munitions and other items of unexploded ordnance in Kosovo have been virtually eliminated,”[2] however further investigation revealed considerably more contamination.[3]

Mines and cluster munition contamination prevent people from using land for agriculture, pasture, tourism, infrastructure, and collecting firewood, and most directly affect the rural poor.[4]

Mine Contamination

At the end of 2015, 69 confirmed mined areas remained covering 2.5km².[5] This is down from 77, covering 2.75km², as of the end of 2014.[6]

Both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were used during the conflict, in fixed-pattern minefields as well as more randomly in “nuisance” minefields. Many antipersonnel mines had minimum-metal content, making detection more difficult.[7]

In 2013, HALO Trust and the Kosovo Mine Action Center (KMAC) conducted a joint NTS of minefields and cluster munition strikes across Kosovo, with the exception of four districts in the north. The survey confirmed 79 mined areas covering 2.76km².[8] The 79 mined areas was a considerable increase on the total of 48 mined areas that had been identified at the end of 2012.[9] By the end of 2014, KMAC reported the number of confirmed mined areas had fallen slightly to 77 over 2.75km².[10]

Mines are found mainly on Kosovo’s borders with Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, but also in the area of Dulie Pass in southcentral Kosovo.[11]

Cluster Munition Contamination

At the end of 2015, contamination from cluster munition remnants in Kosovo covered an estimated 16km² across 55 areas.[12] This compares to 51 areas, over 7.69km², at the end of 2014.[13] The increase in baseline cluster munition contamination in 2015 is due to almost 8.9km² of previously unrecorded contamination confirmed by NTS in northern Kosovo during the year.[14]

NATO aircraft bombed 333 locations between 24 March and 10 June 1999 (Operation Allied Force), dropping 1,392 bombs that released more than 295,700 submunitions.[15] Forces of the FRY also used cluster munitions during the 1998–1999 conflict in Kosovo.[16] The failure rate of the submunitions was typically between 10–15%, resulting in tens of thousands of unexploded submunitions lying on and under the ground. A large clearance program followed in 1999 under a UN mandate, but this ended prematurely in 2001, leaving many cluster munition-contaminated areas still needing to be cleared.[17]

The HALO/KMAC NTS conducted in 2013 (see section on mine contamination above) identified 51 cluster munition strikes, covering 7.63km².[18] 

In 2015, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), in coordination with KMAC and local municipality authorities, conducted NTS of the four northern municipalities, which were not covered in the 2013 survey.[19] The NTS confirmed 8.9km² of cluster munition contamination in three municipalities (Leposavić́, Zubin Potok, and Zvečan). No cluster munition contamination was found in the fourth municipality of Mitrovica North.[20] On the basis of available evidence, NPA believes that 83 cluster bombs were dropped in this region, dispersing a total of 17,041 submunitions.[21] 

Kosovo consists of a small amount of land with a relatively large population, and cluster munition remnants often exist in close proximity to human activity.[22] The 2015 NTS in northern Kosovo revealed that of the confirmed cluster munition-contaminated area, 43% is mountainous, in area intended for tourism (a key developmental potential for the region); 25% is agricultural land; and 23% forests.[23] In the three cluster munition-contaminated provinces surveyed in northern Kosovo, NPA identified 995 local inhabitants as being directly vulnerable, and a further 1,027 as indirectly vulnerable.[24]

Other ERW

In addition, Kosovo remains affected by other ERW. Most ERW consists of unexploded air-dropped bombs (located mainly in the west of the province) and items of AXO. However, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams continue to encounter items of UXO dating back to World War II.[25] Kosovo Protection Force (KFOR) EOD teams regularly dispose of items of AXO in response to information provided by the public and demining organizations.[26]

Program Management

KMAC, under the Ministry of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF), is responsible for managing clearance of mines and ERW. It prepares an annual workplan in cooperation with demining NGOs and coordinates operations of both the NGOs and KFOR. It also coordinates survey, quality assurance (QA), risk education, public information, and victim assistance.[27]

An evaluation of Kosovo’s mine action program in 2014 was conducted on behalf of the International Trust Fund (ITF) Enhancing Human Security. The evaluation concluded that, “The strategic and annual planning systems of KMAC are sound, IMSMA is well used, national mine action standards appear to be consistent with IMAS, and the quality management system is comprehensive and implemented effectively by the Director of KMAC and his two QA inspectors.”[28]

Strategic planning

A 2015–2018 multi-year strategic plan for the Kosovo mine action program aims to reduce the social, economic, and environmental impact of mines, cluster munition remnants, and UXO in Kosovo.[29]

Operators

The KSF provide clearance capacity in Kosovo, including round-the-clock EOD emergency response.[30] In addition, NGOs also conduct land release in Kosovo: HALO Trust, the Bosnia-based Mine Detection Dog Centre (MDDC), MAT Kosovo, and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA). MDDC received United States (US) funding in 2015, but only for mine clearance and not cluster munition clearance; and MAT Kosovo was not funded to operate in either 2014 or 2015.[31] 

Capacity in 2015 remained the same as in 2014.[32] HALO Trust deployed 50 demining personnel and 24 operational staff on cluster munition clearance.[33] The KSF operated three platoons with 75 deminers also trained for battle area clearance (BAC), and a fourth platoon with 25 deminers also trained solely to conduct EOD rapid response tasks.[34] 

Land Release (Mines)

A total of almost 0.22km² of mined area was released by clearance in 2015. No area was reported as reduced by technical survey, and 25,000m² was canceled by NTS.

Survey in 2015 (mines)

In 2015, HALO Trust canceled one suspected hazardous area (SHA), totaling 25,000m².[35]

Clearance in 2015 (mines)

The KSF and HALO Trust cleared a total of just under 0.22km² in 2015,[36] compared to 0.84km2 containing mines and/or cluster munition remnants in 2014,[37] when BAC and mine clearance was not disaggregated in KMAC’s reporting.

Mine clearance in Kosovo in 2015[38]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle

The KSF used mine detection dogs (MDDs) in one of their clearance operations.[39]

HALO conducted clearance in the Gjakove, Prizren, Ferizaj, and Prishtine regions of Kosovo. Despite focusing on confirmed mined areas, no mines were found in three of HALO’s clearance tasks.[40] According to HALO, this could have been due to mines having already been cleared by previous clearance operators or removed by locals over the years.[41]

According to KMAC, confirmed mined areas with high impact are prioritized for clearance, based on the number, location, and livelihoods of communities at risk, and prospects for development.[42]

Land Release (Cluster Munition Remnants)

A total of 0.34km² of cluster munition-contaminated area was released by clearance in 2015. No area was reported as reduced by technical survey, or canceled by NTS, but 8.9km² was confirmed by NTS as cluster munition contaminated.

Survey in 2015 (Cluster munition remnants) 

In 2015, NPA conducted both desk study and field-based NTS in Kosovo, in cooperation with KMAC, confirming 30 areas as cluster munition contaminated across nine communities in three municipalities. In total, almost 8.9km² was confirmed as cluster munition contaminated (see table below).[43] No area was canceled or reduced by technical survey.

NTS of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2015[44]

The results of the NTS will form the basis for Kosovo’s future cluster munition land-release strategy for northern Kosovo.[45]

Clearance in 2015 (cluster munition remnants)

KSF and HALO Trust collectively cleared a total of just under 0.34km² in 2015 (see table below).[46] While it is impossible to make a direct comparison, as data in previous years was not disaggregated between mines and cluster munition remnants, the 0.34km² of cluster munition-contaminated area cleared in 2015 represents a decrease compared to 2014.[47] 

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2015[48]

Note: * An additional three tasks were suspended due to the end of the demining season

In 2015, KSF released one confirmed hazardous area (CHA) and worked on three others that were suspended at the end of the demining season.[49]

Cluster munition contamination was only found to exist in one of HALO’s two clearance tasks (the task located in Zhub/Gjakova).[50] No submunitions were found in the second task in Landovice/Prizren, due to the fact that the main task had been cleared in 2014, and then suspended during winter due to adverse weather conditions. Fadeout was completed in 2015, during which no further submunitions were found.[51]

HALO Trust deminers average clearance of 100m² a day on cluster munition strike sites, reflecting the constraints on clearance posed by steep gradients, dense vegetation, and heavy-metal contamination.[52] 

According to KMAC, cluster munition-contaminated areas with high impact are prioritized for clearance, based on the number, location, and livelihoods of communities at risk, and also taking into consideration risk education and development. Clearance operations mostly focus on areas confirmed as cluster munition contaminated rather than on suspected hazardous areas.[53]

Progress towards completion

Misinformation persists that mine and cluster munition clearance were completed in 2001, whereas the reality is that significant contamination remains to be cleared. Kosovo needs economic assistance to help it complete mine clearance in a timely manner, otherwise completion risks being prolonged to decades after the end of the conflict.[54]

At current rates of clearance, Kosovo will still be mine-affected a decade from now. 

Mine clearance and BAC in 2010–2015[55]

Note: * Includes mine and battle area clearance.

The 2014 evaluation concluded that the KSF and HALO Trust, continuing with their existing capacity and procedures, would not be in a position to complete cluster munition clearance operations before 2026. The evaluation report suggested that if both organizations, with existing capacity, had access to Handheld Standoff Mine Detection Systems (HSTAMIDs) and adopted NPA’s cluster munition remnants survey (CMRS) methodology, clearance could be completed in nine years.[56] The report recommends that trials be conducted of the use of HSTAMIDs and of the CMRS methodology in Kosovo. It also strongly recommends the use of MDDs.[57] HSTAMIDS were introduced to HALO’s program in 2015 to increase clearance rates.[58]

The Monitor gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review supported and published by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which conducted mine action research in 2016 and shared it with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.