Contaminated by: antipersonnel mines (light contamination), antivehicle mines, and explosive remnants of war (ERW).

As of April 2017, the Republic of Armenia had 9.6km² of confirmed and suspected mined area containing antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, or a combination of both with unexploded ordnance (UXO). Just over 2.9km² of this contained confirmed antipersonnel mine contamination. This is a decrease from the 24km² of confirmed and suspected mine contamination at the end of 2015, mainly as a result of the cancelation of 14km² by non-technical survey in 2016. In 2015, 0.02km² was cleared, with the destruction of two antipersonnel mines.

Recommendations for action

• Armenia should clarify the extent of remaining mine contamination, including in military restricted zones, and mobilize the necessary resources to finish clearance.
• Armenia should finalize its national mine action strategy and set a deadline for completion of mine clearance operations.

Contamination

As of April 2017, Armenia had more than 5.7km² of confirmed mined area and a further 3.8km² or suspected mined area, as set out in the table below. The mined areas contain antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, or a combination of both, as well as UXO.[1]

Of 97 confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs), 56 contain antipersonnel mines, totaling just over 2.9km². Three of the six suspected hazardous (SHAs), totaling just over 0.1km², may also be contaminated by antipersonnel mines. The breakdown of contamination by type is detailed in the table below.[2]

Contamination (as at April 2017)[3]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

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

Contamination by province (as at April 2017)[5]

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

In addition, 14 CHAs and six SHAs contain only UXO. These areas, which total 1.4km² and 6.4km², respectively, are located in the provinces of Gegharqunik, Syunik, and Tavush.[6]

This compares to 6.7km² of confirmed mined area and a further 17.3km² of suspected mined area, as of the end of 2015.[7] The significant decrease in SHA is because more than 14km² was canceled by non-technical survey in 2016.[8]

According to the Armenian Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise (ACHDE), mine contamination in Armenia is typically not dense and does not follow set patterns.[9] The ACHDE reports that 34,523 people, all in rural communities, are impacted by remaining mine and ERW contamination.[10] Mine contamination in Armenia impacts a range of development activities, including agriculture and tourism.[11] Priority for clearance is given to agricultural land.[12]

Mine and ERW contamination in Armenia is primarily the consequence of armed conflict with Azerbaijan from 1988–1994, which saw both sides use mines. The heaviest contamination is along the borders and confrontation lines with Azerbaijan. Armenia’s border with Georgia has been cleared of mines, whereas the border with Turkey, also mined during the Soviet era, is still contaminated.[13] 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 that border remain unsurveyed because they are controlled by Russian border troops.[14]

However, non-technical survey conducted by FSD in November 2012 to May 2013 was mandated by the government of Armenia to survey impacted communities only 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.[15]

Territory seized from Azerbaijan during the conflict is believed to be significantly contaminated by mines and ERW, including unexploded submunitions.[16] (See the Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh profiles for details.)

Program Management

The ACHDE is Armenia’s national mine action center.[17] It is a civilian, non-commercial state organization responsible for conducting survey and clearance, and identifying contaminated areas. It can negotiate with international demining organizations, accept international funding, sign contracts, and receive international assistance.[18] The ACHDE has an advisory board, composed of representatives from the ministries of defense, emergency situations, territorial administration, and justice.[19]

Strategic planning

Armenia does not yet have a formally constituted national mine action program or strategy.[20]

Alongside development of the draft mine action law (see below), and with the support of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Yerevan, the ACHDE has been setting up a national mine action program, which will benefit from national funding, guided by a national strategy for mine action and mine action plan.[21] As of April 2017, the draft national strategic plan on mine action was in the final stages of editing, and reportedly includes strategic direction and coordination for mine action, guidance on principles and objectives, an outline of operations and planning, and allocation of financial means.[22]

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.[23] Criteria used to prioritize clearance tasks include the distance of hazardous areas from local communities, the intended use of land post-clearance, and the potential for development projects on cleared land. To optimize efficient deployment of resources, clearance plans are typically drawn up on a community-by-community basis.[24]

Legislation and standards

The ACHDE reported that with support from the OSCE office in Yerevan, it began drafting national mine action legislation in 2015.[25] As of April 2017, ACHDE reported that the draft law was in “being edited” prior to submission for government approval.[26]

As of April 2017, amendments to the National Mine Action Standards (NMAS) on the use of mine detection dogs (MDDs) were being elaborated, which the ACHDE expected to be submitted for governmental approval in the second half of 2017.[27]

The ACHDE will further develop its standard operation procedures once the draft law on mine action has been adopted.[28]

Operators

Since HALO Trust stopped conducting operations in Armenia in October 2015, only a national capacity for technical survey and clearance remains. In 2016, the Armenian Peacekeeping Engineering Brigade (PKEB), under the Ministry of Defense, deployed two six-strong manual clearance teams from mid-July to October 2016. In addition, the ACHDE had one three-strong non-technical survey team.[29] This represented a considerable decrease in capacity compared to 2015, as no international clearance organization undertook demining operations in Armenia in 2016.[30]

Six MDDs were also introduced in Armenia for the first time in 2016, for use in PKEB’s technical survey. The MDD project is funded by the United States (US) Department of State and private donations from US citizens with support from ITF Enhancing Human Security and the Marshall Legacy Institute.[31] As part of the project, Bosnian Mine Detection Dog Center (MDDC) trainers were leading a dog-handler integration course with PKEB dog handlers.[32] The MDDs were scheduled to undergo final tests and accreditation by ACHDE in the summer of 2017, and if successful, will join the PKEB manual teams in technical survey.[33]

Although HALO Trust no longer conducts mine clearance operations in Armenia, it continues to provide advice and training to ACHDE, as and when required.[34] HALO Trust has also undertaken work to build national capacity in Armenia through a training program, and supervised deminers from the PKEB to international standards.[35] In 2016, as part of the capacity-building project, HALO Trust provided refresher training for nine PKEB leaders on minefield marking, mapping, reporting, GPS coordinates, and minefield management, prior to deployment. In addition, HALO Trust also provided geographic information system (GIS) training to ACHDE staff on polygon mapping and database management.[36]

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.[37] Its main tasks are to conduct demining and destroy expired or obsolete arms and ammunition in Armenia.[38] As of April 2017, however, FDD had not conducted any operations since its creation.[39]

Land Release

Less than 0.02km² of mined area was released by clearance in 2016, compared with 0.07 km² cleared in 2015. In addition, just under 14.4km² was canceled by non-technical survey.[40]

Survey in 2016

Through survey in 2016, the ACHDE canceled two huge SHAs totaling almost 13.5km², and partly canceled a further two CHAs, totaling almost 0.9km².[41]

Clearance in 2016

In 2016, PKEB teams cleared one mined area totaling 17,310m², destroying two antipersonnel mines and three items of UXO.[42]

Progress towards completion

One of the objectives of the Armenian Mine Action Strategy 2007–2011 was 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.[43] However, scant progress was made towards these targets.[44] Armenia claims that challenges in its mine and ERW clearance include the low level of contamination and the random distribution of mines it is confronting.[45]

Historically, Armenia has not reported systematically on its mine clearance operations, though detailed information was provided for 2014, 2015, and 2016. In the past, demining in Armenia has been slow and productivity rates correspondingly low, with the Ministry of Defense reporting only some 2km² of mined area cleared from 2002 to the end of 2008.[46] During 2013, only non-technical survey was conducted (by FSD, with the support of ACHDE).[47] In April 2014, clearance operations began again in Armenia, and continued in 2015 and 2016. Humanitarian demining was not carried out prior to this, due to lack of donor funding.[48]

Mine clearance in 2012–2016[49]

In October 2015, HALO Trust ceased mine clearance operations in Armenia, leaving only national capacity for survey and clearance provided by the PKEB; and an overall reduction in operational capacity in 2016.

No target data has been set for the completion of mine clearance in Armenia, due to the uncertainty of future funding.[50]

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the mine action research in 2017, including on survey and clearance, and shared all its resulting landmine and cluster munition reports with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.