Contaminated by: landmines (medium contamination) and unexploded ordnance, including cluster munition remnants, all in the Falkland Islands/Malvinas.

Article 5 deadline: 1 March 2019
(Not on track to meet deadline)

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline: 1 November 2020
(Not on track to meet deadline)

As of March 2016, approximately 11.63km² of mined areas remained. Between January 2015 and March 2016, a total of almost 1.10km² was cleared while 0.32km² was confirmed as mined through survey. In 2015, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) commissioned a study to help prioritize the remaining minefields, based on factors such as ease of clearance and recommendations from the Falkland Islands government. The UK also sought to understand lessons learnt from previous phases of demining and to increase the efficiency of its land release operations. In addition, the UK has announced plans for the next phase of demining, during which it plans to clear 46 minefields over the next two years and carry out technical survey in preparation for clearance of a further 27 minefields.

Recommendation for action

• The UK should present detailed plans and timelines for completing demining in the Falkland Islands/Malvinas by 2019. 

Mine Contamination

The only mined areas under the jurisdiction or control of the UK are on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas, the result of conflict with Argentina in 1982.[1] As of March 2016, the UK had almost 11.63km² of mined area, across 83 mined areas, as set out in the table below.[2]

At the end of 2014, contamination stood at 12.6km² across 107 mined areas, before clearance operations resumed in January 2015.[3] As of the end of April 2015, contamination stood at 12.35km² across 97 mined areas, before clearance operations were suspended for the winter as a result of the weather.[4] Clearance resumed in September 2015, and a further 0.83km² was cleared by March 2016, releasing an additional 15 areas.

Contamination by province as of March 2016[5]

No civilian mine or cluster munition casualty has ever occurred on the islands.[6] Over the years, however, civilians have deliberately or inadvertently entered a minefield on numerous occasions.[7] It is a criminal offence on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas to enter a minefield.

The socio-economic impact of contamination on the islands is said to be minimal. All mined areas and suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) are reported to have been “perimeter-marked and are regularly monitored and protected by quality stock proof fencing, to ensure the effective exclusion of civilians.”[8] According to the UK, mined areas represent “only 0.1% of land used for farming. The mined areas cover a wide range of terrain including sandy beaches and dunes, mountains, rock screes, dry peat, wet swampy peat, and pasture land.”[9] A number of instances of cattle, sheep, or horses entering the minefields have been recorded since 2000, some of which resulted in the animals’ deaths.[10]

Cluster Munition Contamination 

An unknown number of cluster munition remnants remain on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas[11] as a result of use of BL755 cluster bombs by the UK against Argentine positions during the 1982 armed conflict.

In February 2009, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated that:

“According to historical records either 106 or 107 Cluster Bomb Units (CBU) were dropped by British Harriers and Sea Harriers during the conflict. Each CBU contains 147 BL755 submunitions and using the higher CBU figure (107), a total of 15,729 submunitions were dropped. Using a 6.4% failure rate assessed during in-service surveillance over 15 years, we would estimate that 1,006 would not explode. Given that 1,378 BL 755s were cleared in the first year after the conflict and that a further 120 have been found and disposed of since (totaling 1,498), clearly there was a slightly higher failure rate. Even if the rate had been closer to 10% and 1,573 had failed, we can only estimate that some 70 remain but that due to the very soft nature of the peat found on the islands, many of these will have been buried well below the surface. We believe that the majority of those remaining are now contained within existing minefields and these will be cleared in due course.”[12]

In 2015, the UK affirmed that no known areas of cluster munition contamination exist outside SHAs on the islands, in particular mined areas, all of which are fenced and marked.[13]

The UK has stated that potential cluster munition contamination has, in part, been taken into account during mine clearance operations on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas, with two areas, Fox Bay 8W and Goose Green 11, selected for clearance partly based on records indicating that cluster munitions had been dropped there. No cluster munition remnants were found in these two areas.[14] 

In June 2015, the UK reported destruction of 19 submunitions during Phase 4(a) clearance operations, in January to April 2015, also in Stanley Area 3.[15] UK records suggest that four cluster bombs were dropped in this area.[16] No further cluster munition remnants were encountered during Phase 4(b) clearance operations in September 2015 to March 2016 in Stanley Area 2 and Stanley Area 3.[17] Prior to that, the last cluster munition remnants were found in 2010, when the UK reported destruction of two submunitions in Stanley Area 3, during clearance operations across four mined areas in 2009–2010.[18] 

Program Management

A National Mine Action Authority (NMAA) was established in 2009 to oversee clearance of mined areas.[19] The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) chairs the NMAA, which contains representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the Falkland Islands government, a strategic advisor, and the project contractors.[20]

In October 2014, the Governor’s Office in Port Stanley announced that demining contracts had been awarded to two companies for the next phase (Phase 4) of clearance on the islands. Battle Area Clearance, Training, Equipment and Consultancy International Ltd (BACTEC) was awarded the land release contract, while Fenix Insight was responsible for the Demining Project Office, which assures the quality of demining operations.[21]

To implement Phase 4, which began in January 2015, BACTEC had a team of 46 demining staff, along with other support and management personnel. In total, 74 staff were employed on the project.[22] BACTEC also used three mechanical assets during the project: two flails and a tiller.[23] 

BACTEC and Fenix Insight were subsequently awarded the contracts for demining and quality assurance respectively, for Phase 5 of clearance, which commenced in October 2016.

Strategic planning 

In September 2016, the UK announced its plans for the next stage of survey and clearance operations in the Falkland Islands/Malvinas (Phase 5). This phase, which commenced in October 2016, is expected to take two and a half years. During the first two years of Phase 5, 46 minefields totaling an estimated 111,150m² are expected to be cleared, and a further 27 minefields totaling an estimated 431,130m² will be subject to technical survey. The survey work will help establish more accurately the extent of contamination in the remaining minefields.[24]

The UK does not currently have a strategic plan in place for completion of clearance of the Islands.

Standards

The UK does not have its own national mine action standards, but demining operations in the Falkland Islands/Malvinas are conducted according to the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS), and agreed by the NMAA.[25] Each project’s Statement of Requirement contains the standards specific to the tasks being addressed.[26]

Information management 

In 2015, the UK government disseminated reports on “exploitation work” conducted during Phases 1, 2, and 4 on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas. These reports, although specific to the islands, were released in the expectation they might be of broader interest to the mine action community, particularly with regard to the effects of aging and weathering of specific mine types. The reports focus on two antipersonnel mine types, the SB33 (Italian) and the P4B (Spanish), and two antivehicle mine types, the SB81 (Italian) and the C3B (Spanish).[27]

Land Release (Mines)

Since 2010, mine clearance and battle area clearance (BAC) on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas have been conducted in four phases. Phase 1 took place from October 2009 to June 2010; Phase 2 from January to March 2012; Phase 3 from January to March 2013; Phase 4(a) from January to April 2015;[28] and Phase 4(b) from September 2015 to March 2016.[29]

Between January 2015 and March 2016, a total of almost 1.10km² was cleared while 0.32km² was confirmed as mined through survey.[30] This represents an increase in release compared to 2014, since no clearance or survey took place that year.

Survey in 2015 (mines)

During Phase 4(b) survey in September 2015 to March 2016, a total of more than 0.32km² was confirmed as mined.[31] This comprised a pilot survey of minefield SA0007 in the sand-duned Yorke Bay area, where no area was confirmed as mined; SA050C (209,925m² confirmed as mined); and SA045/SA046 (113,384m² confirmed as mined, across both minefields).[32]

Clearance in 2015 (mines)

In total, almost 1.1km² was cleared from 25 mined areas, with the destruction of 3,397 antipersonnel mines, 384 antivehicle mines, and 56 items of UXO, in the period from January 2015 to March 2016.[33] 

Of this, 10 mined areas totaling just over 0.26km² were cleared during Phase 4(a) and a further 15 areas totaling just over 0.83km² during Phase 4(b). BAC of an SHA behind Stanley Common fence to the West of Eliza Cove Road, totaling more than 1.3km², also took place during Phase 4(b).[34] 

Phase 4(b) had been expected to conclude in December 2015, but was extended by an additional three months due to the unexpected inaccuracy of some of the minefield records, undocumented post-clearance by British military, difficult ground conditions, and heath fires. Anomalies in records included one minefield record (SA50B) actually referring to that of another (SA049), due to misfiling shortly after the conflict ended. Subsequently, the area shown for SA50B was found not to contain mines, and was canceled as a result, and SA049 contained more mines and a greater variety than expected.[35] Further, during clearance of SA50A, unexpected mines were found that did not correspond to the records, and it is now thought that a previously unknown minefield exists to the southwest of SA50A. This additional minefield has been designated SA50C, but lies within existing minefield fences, and therefore does not pose an increased risk to the local population.[36] The various challenges were reportedly addressed using appropriate technical survey.[37]

In some SHAs, machines (with a flail or tiller) were used to prepare the land for clearance, which improved productivity. All mechanically prepared ground was subsequently processed by deminers using visual search, detector search, raking, or full manual excavation drills. Furthermore, drones were introduced for the first time during Phase 4 clearance operations. The use of drones to overfly SHAs helped to identify mine “dump” locations, row markers, and other evidence that might have otherwise taken a manual team several days to locate, and the use of drones was deemed to be an excellent addition to the demining toolbox.[38]

Overall, during the first four phases of clearance (from October 2009 to March 2016), 35 mined areas were released, totaling just over 2km², with the destruction of 4,371 antipersonnel mines, 984 antivehicle mines, and 74 items of UXO, including 21 submunitions (see table below). 

Mine clearance by project phase and area in October 2009 to 30 March 2016[39]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

In addition, BAC operations during Phases 2, 3, and 4(b), resulted in just over 5km² of SHA being cleared, with the destruction of 87 items of UXO and no submunitions. This comprised 3.49km² cleared in Phase 2, with 85 UXO items destroyed; 0.18km² in Phase 3 with no UXO destroyed; and 1.33km² in Phase 4(b), with two UXO items destroyed.[40]

Land Release (Cluster Munition Remnants)

Nineteen submunitions were destroyed in Phase 4(a) of clearance operations from January to April 2015, during clearance of a 47,027m² minefield in Stanley Area 3.[41] No further cluster munition contamination was encountered during Phase 4(b) of clearance operations from September 2015 to March 2016.[42] 

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the 10-year extension granted by States Parties in 2008), the UK is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2019. The UK is not on track to meet this deadline.

As of December 2015, the Article 5 Committee highlighted that total mined area cleared to date represented less than 10% of overall mine contamination, far less than the 48% the UK forecasted it would have cleared in its 2008 Article 5 deadline extension request.[43] The committee also observed that “the United Kingdom’s pace of implementation suggests that it will not be able to complete implementation of Article 5 by its deadline in 2019.”[44] Three of the last five calendar years have passed without clearance of antipersonnel mines being conducted on the islands. 

At the conclusion of the most recent phase of demining operations in March 2016, just under 2km² of mined land had been cleared since the UK joined the Mine Ban Treaty, releasing a total of 35 mined areas (see table above). Eighty-three mined areas, totaling 11.63km², remained to be cleared.[45] In July 2016, the UK reported that meeting the 2019 target will be “challenging,” and that its current priority was implementation of a fifth phase of demining “without delay.”[46]

The Ninth Meeting of States Parties in December 2008 agreed to the UK’s request for a 10-year extension but noted the UK had agreed to provide, not later than the end of June 2010, a detailed explanation of how demining was proceeding and the implications for future demining in order to meet the UK’s obligations under Article 5.[47] As of October 2016, the UK had not yet fulfilled this commitment, though it had reported on progress in clearance to date and plans for the next phase of demining. The Article 5 Committee stated at the May 2016 intersessional meetings that it would welcome updates by the UK on its plan to implement Article 5.[48] In response, the UK has pledged to keep the treaty bodies informed of its progress.[49]

The UK government funds all mine clearance operations on the islands.[50] Many of the remaining mined areas are said to be in extremely remote locations, exposed to adverse weather conditions, and, in the UK’s opinion, pose negligible economic, developmental, or social risk to civilians.[51] The UK has also reported the following additional challenges to clearance on the islands: incomplete Argentine minefield records; concerns about the environmental impact of demining; and limits on the capacity of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas to provide certain facilities for demining, such as medical evacuation of any casualties.[52] The UK expects these factors to become increasingly significant as the later phases of demining tackle the more remote and technically challenging minefields.[53]

To date, the UK has prioritized clearance of areas closest to settlements and civilian infrastructure, resulting in release of areas closest to Stanley and the roads leading in and out of the islands’ capital. In early 2016, the Ministry of Defence and the FCO commissioned the UK’s Defence, Science, and Technology Laboratory to carry out a study to help prioritize clearance of the remaining minefields in a Phase 5 of demining. The 2016 study applied Multi Criteria Decision Analysis to rank all remaining minefields according to a range of factors including size/density of minefield; terrestrial factors (remoteness of location, topography, and difficulty of mine removal); human factors (proximity to life, benefits to local population of clearance, and political priorities of UK/Falkland Islands government); and environmental factors (conservation of wildlife and adherence to local legislation). The resultant priority list formed the basis of the UK government’s invitation to tender for the contract for Phase 5 demining. The final order of clearance will also take into account practicalities such as the contractors’ capacity, weather, and time constraints.[54]

In September 2016, the UK announced plans for the next phase of demining on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas (Phase 5), which subsequently commenced in October.[55] The UK will keep the Mine Ban Treaty informed of its progress throughout Phase 5, and at the end of the two-year period, will assess the remaining mine clearance challenge before continuing with demining.[56]

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 Compliance

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the UK is required to destroy all cluster munitions remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 November 2020. The UK is not on track to meet this deadline.

As the majority of remaining contamination is believed to be contained within existing minefields, in order for the UK to meet its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, it must also clear those minefields.

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.