Kosovo

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 05 July 2016

Summary: Kosovo cannot accede to, or attend meetings of, the Convention on Cluster Munitions due to its political status. Its officials have expressed support for the convention’s objectives.

Background

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, but its international status is disputed.[1] Kosovo is not able to become a UN member state and thus is not eligible to adhere formally to international instruments such as the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Policy

Kosovo last made a statement regarding the ban on cluster munitions in March 2010 when a spokesperson for the self-declared Republic of Kosovo told the Monitor, “In principle, as a country that has been through war, Kosovo supports the initiatives to reduce and ban arms, including the policy to ban cluster ammunition.” He stated that Kosovo does not possess any cluster munitions.[2]

Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia used cluster munitions during the 1998–1999 conflict in Kosovo.[3] Additionally, aircraft from the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States dropped cluster bombs in Kosovo during the 1999 NATO air campaign.[4]



[1] As of June 2014, the declaration of independence was recognized by 110 states and Taiwan. Serbia considers the declaration illegal and still views Kosovo as its southern territory.

[2] Email from Memli Krasniqi, Spokesperson, Republic of Kosovo, 30 March 2010. He wrote, “KFOR [Kosovo Protection Force] is the mission responsible for issues related to defense, while Kosovo institutions have certain limitations in this field. Consequently, Kosovo does not have stocks of any kind of explosive device or other weapons.”

[3] Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 238.

[4] The three countries dropped 1,765 cluster bombs containing 295,000 submunitions in what is now Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. HRW, “Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign,” Vol. 12, No. 1(D), February 2000. See also HRW, “Cluster Munition Information Chart,” March 2009; Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), “Yellow Killers: The Impact of Cluster Munitions in Serbia and Montenegro,” 2007; and NPA, “Report on the Impact of Unexploded Cluster Munitions in Serbia,” January 2009.


Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 11 August 2012

Background

The status of Kosovo is disputed. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. As of October 2011, the declaration of independence had been recognized by 88 states. However, Serbia considers the declaration illegal and still views Kosovo as its southern territory. Kosovo has not been able to become a UN member state and so is not eligible to adhere formally to international instruments such as the Mine Ban Treaty.

Policy

A spokesperson for the self-declared Republic of Kosovo told the Monitor in March 2010 that Kosovo strongly supports a policy of banning antipersonnel mines and other explosive and deadly devices. The spokesperson stated that there has been no initiative in the Kosovo Assembly to draft a law banning mines, but this did not preclude the possibility of such a law in the future.[1]

The spokesperson said that Kosovo does not possess antipersonnel mines.[2] Some possession and trafficking of mines by criminal groups has been reported in the media.[3]

 



[1] Email from Memli Krasniqi, Spokesperson, Republic of Kosovo, 30 March 2010.

[2] Ibid.

[3] According to media reports, in April 2010 Macedonian police reportedly seized antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, and other weapons from five bunkers near the border with Kosovo. This followed a skirmish between the police and what they described as “uniformed persons” from “an extremist group” in Kosovo. “Macedonian IM: Weapons threat to region,” B92 (Skopje), 30 April 2010, www.b92.net. Another report on the same day said that the Kosovo Police, Kosovo Protection Service, and Kosovo Force officers arrested several people with a quantity of weapons and uniforms of the Kosovo Liberation Army in an area adjacent to the bunkers in Macedonia. Landmines were not mentioned among the weapons seized, and authorities could not confirm a connection to the other incident. “Police finds [sic] more weapons near Blace,” Macedonian International News Agency, 30 April 2010, www.macedoniaonline.eu/.


Mine Action

Last updated: 21 November 2017

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

Summary

At the end of 2016, mine contamination covered 1.9km2. This was a decrease from the 2.5km2 reported at the end of 2015. However, the difference in in total mine contamination between the end of 2015 and end of 2016, both in terms of the number of confirmed mined areas and the overall area of contamination, cannot be explained or reconciled by area released by clearance. Just over 0.15km2 was cleared in 2016 with the destruction of 40 antipersonnel mines. No antipersonnel mine survey was conducted.

At the end of 2016, contamination from cluster munition remnants covered an estimated 15km2, a decrease on the 16km2 reported at the end of 2015. A total of 0.47km2 of cluster munition-contaminated area was cleared in 2015, and 0.12km2 was reduced by technical survey.

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] Many of the minefields cleared by HALO Trust in Kosovo are only a few meters from occupied houses.[5] Kosovo is small geographically with a relatively large population, and cluster munition remnants often exist in close proximity to human activity.[6] In 2016, at the Doganaj cluster munition clearance task in Kaqanik municipality, Ferizaj region, HALO reported clearing BLU-97 submunitions around houses, farm land, grazing land, and woodland, as well as near a football pitch.[7]

Mine Contamination

At the end of 2016, 58 areas confirmed to contain mines remained, covering a total of 1.9km2.[8] This is down from 69 areas, covering 2.5km2, as of the end of 2015.[9] The difference in total mine contamination between the end of 2015 and end of 2016, both in terms of the number of confirmed mined areas and the overall area of contamination, cannot be explained or reconciled by area released by clearance.

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 low metal content, making detection more difficult.[10]

Cluster Munition Contamination

At the end of 2016, contamination from cluster munition remnants in Kosovo was estimated to cover a total of 15km2 across 53 areas, according to the Kosovo Mine Action Center (KMAC).[11] This compares to the KMAC estimate of 16km2 over 55 areas at the end of 2015.[12]

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.[13] Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) also used cluster munitions during the 1998–1999 conflict in Kosovo.[14] 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.[15]

In 2013, HALO and KMAC conducted a joint non-technical survey of cluster munition strikes and minefields across Kosovo, with the exception of four districts in the north. The survey identified 130 confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs): 51 cluster munitions strikes, covering 7.63km2, and 79 mined areas over 2.76km2.[16]

In 2015, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), in coordination with KMAC and local municipality authorities, conducted non-technical survey of the four northern municipalities that were not covered in the 2013 HALO/KMAC survey.[17] The NPA survey confirmed 8.9km2 of cluster munition contamination in three of the four municipalities surveyed (Leposavic, Zubin Potok, and Zvecan). No cluster munition contamination was found in the fourth (Mitrovica North).[18] On the basis of available evidence, NPA believes that 83 cluster bombs were dropped in this region, dispersing a total of 17,041 submunitions.[19]

Other explosive remnants of war

Kosovo also remains affected by explosive remnants of war (ERW) other than cluster munition remnants. Most ERW consists of unexploded aircraft bombs (located mainly in the west of the province) and items of abandoned explosive ordinance (AXO). However, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams continue to encounter items of UXO dating back to World War II.[20] Kosovo Protection Force (KFOR) EOD teams regularly dispose of items of AXO in response to information provided by the public and demining organizations.[21]

Program Management

KMAC, under the Ministry of the 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, risk education, public information, and victim assistance.[22]

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, submunitions, and other UXO in Kosovo.[23] Clearance of cluster munition remnants is not expected to be completed before 2024.[24]

Legislation and standards

Kosovo has a law on humanitarian demining, in addition to a number of other relevant regulations.[25] Kosovo has mine action standards in place, which are said to conform to the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).[26]

Quality management

KMAC has two quality assurance officers who conduct site visits to ensure work is conducted in accordance with IMAS and the approved Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs).[27]

Operators

The KSF provide clearance capacity in Kosovo, including around-the-clock EOD emergency response.[28] NGOs have also been conducting land release of mined area in Kosovo, including HALO, the Bosnia-based Mine Detection Dog Centre (MDDC), and Mines Awareness Trust (MAT). However, neither MDDC nor MAT was operational in 2016, and no MDDs or mechanical assets were used in Kosovo during the year.[29]

The KSF reported that its capacity in 2016 remained the same as in 2015: it operated three platoons with a total of 75 deminers who are also trained for battle area clearance (BAC), and a fourth, with 25 clearance personnel trained solely to conduct EOD rapid-response tasks.[30]

HALO expanded its mine clearance capacity in 2016 to 100 operational staff, of whom 80 conducted mine clearance and the remaining 20 carried out BAC.[31]

In December 2014, NPA received accreditation to conduct non-technical survey for BAC, and subsequently conducted non-technical survey for cluster munition remnant-contaminated areas in July 2015.[32] NPA deployed one BAC team totaling eight operational staff from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2016.[33]

Land Release (mines)

A total of just over 0.15km2 of mined area was released by clearance in 2016. No area was reported as reduced by technical survey or canceled by non-technical survey.

Survey in 2016 (mines)

No antipersonnel mine survey was conducted in 2016.[34]

Clearance in 2016 (mines)

KSF and HALO Trust cleared a total of more than 0.15km2 in 2016, down from almost 0.22km2 in 2015.[35]

Mine clearance in Kosovo in 2016[36]

Operator

Areas cleared

Area cleared (m2)

Antipersonnel mines destroyed

Antivehicle mines destroyed

UXO destroyed

KSF

1 suspended

4,935

2

0

0

HALO

10 cleared and 5 suspended

147,039

38

0

24

Total

 

151,974

40

2

24

 

The KSF cleared one mined area in 2016, totaling 4,935m2, destroying two antipersonnel mines in the process. Clearance of the mined area was suspended at the end of the year due to the onset of winter and the consequent end of the demining season.[37]

While the area of land cleared by HALO Trust in 2016 (147,039m2) was the same as reported by both KMAC, HALO reported it had cleared 10 areas, and suspended 4, and that it had destroyed 37 antipersonnel mines and 25 items of UXO during clearance operations in 2016.[38] Despite focusing on confirmed mined areas, six of the 14 areas of land cleared by HALO were found to have no antipersonnel mines, though clearance was continuing in two of the suspended tasks in 2017.[39] HALO reported that a degree of evidence is always found from prior incidents, or mines found during survey of mined areas, and that while no complete mines were found during clearance, the teams generally encounter craters or component parts of detonated mines during clearance.[40]

According to KMAC, confirmed mined areas with high impact are prioritized for clearance.[41] Clearance tasks are selected from the high-priority areas where people are prevented access to land for cultivation and grazing, but also where communities are prevented from safely accessing wooded areas to gather firewood.[42]

Land Release (cluster munition remnants)

A total of almost 0.47km2 of cluster munition-contaminated area was cleared in 2016, and almost 0.12km2 was reduced by technical survey.[43] No area was reported as canceled by non-technical survey.[44]


Survey in 2016 (cluster munition remnants)

In November 2016, NPA started technical survey in Boljetin, Zvecan municipality, in northern Kosovo, reducing 118,500m2 prior to suspending the task for the year on 7 December, due to winter weather. During the survey, one submunition was discovered, on 6 December 2016. Follow-on clearance commenced on 28 February 2017, at the start of the new demining season, and a further nine submunitions were found and destroyed.[45]


Clearance in 2016 (cluster munition remnants)

The KSF and HALO collectively cleared almost 0.47km2 in 2016 with the destruction of 33 submunitions (see table below),[46] an increase over the 0.34km2 cleared in 2015.[47]

In 2016, the KSF released two CHAs by clearance and worked on three others that were suspended at the end of the demining season, clearing 247,213m2 in total. In the course of clearance, 15 submunitions as well as 396 other items of UXO, seven antipersonnel mines, and 25 antivehicle mines were destroyed.[48]

HALO cleared 217,830m2 of area containing cluster munition remnants in 2016, during which 18 submunitions were destroyed.[49]

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2016[50]

Operator

Areas cleared

Area cleared (m2)

Submunitions destroyed

Antipersonnel mines destroyed

Antivehicle mines destroyed

UXO destroyed

KSF

2

247,213

15

7

25

396

HALO

1

217,830

18

0

0

0

Total

 

465,043

33

7

25

396


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 focus on areas confirmed as cluster munition-contaminated rather than on suspected hazardous areas (SHAs).[51]

Progress towards completion of clearance

Misinformation persists that mine and cluster munition clearance was completed in 2001, whereas the reality is that significant contamination remains to be cleared. Kosovo is a poor area, and 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.[52]

KMAC expects to complete clearance of antipersonnel mines in Kosovo by 2024, but it reported in 2017 that funding for NGOs may pose an obstacle to this completion date.[53]

Mine clearance in 2015–2016 and mine clearance/BAC in 2012–2014[54]

Year

Area cleared (km2)

2016

0.15

2015

0.22

2014

0.84*

2013

0.40*

2012

0.69*

Total

2.3

Note: * Includes mine and battle area clearance.

With adequate funding, KMAC and HALO now predict that clearance of cluster munition remnants will be completed by 2024.[55] This would be 25 years after the end of the conflict between the FRY forces and NATO and more than 20 years after the UN claimed that the clearance of the province was largely complete.[56]

HALO secured funding in 2016 that allowed it to increase the number of clearance teams. Handheld Standoff Mine Detection System (HSTAMIDS) was introduced to its program in 2015,[57] which HALO finds has increased clearance speed in almost all the minefields in which they have been deployed.[58]

 

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.


[1] See, UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), “UNMIK OKPCC EOD Management Section Annual Report 2005,” Pristina, 18 January 2006, p. 2; and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Explosive Remnants of War, Cluster Bombs and Landmines in Kosovo (Revised Edition, Geneva, June 2001), pp. 6 and 15.

[2] “UNMIK Mine Action Programme Annual Report – 2001,” Mine Action Coordination Cell, Pristina, undated but 2002, p. 1.

[3] HALO Trust, “Failing the Kosovars: The Hidden Impact and Threat from ERW,” 15 December 2006, p. 1.

[4] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, Head, Kosovo Mine Action Centre (KMAC), 12 April 2016; and from Andrew Moore, Caucasus and Balkans Desk Officer, HALO Trust, 1 October 2016.

[5] Email from Ash Boddy, Regional Director, HALO Trust, 29 April 2017.

[6] Andrew Moore, “Action on cluster munitions in Kosovo,” Side event, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference, Dubrovnik, 10 September 2015.

[7] Email from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 29 April 2017.

[8] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 16 March 2017.

[9] Ibid., 12 April 2016.

[10] ICRC, Explosive Remnants of War, Cluster Bombs and Landmines in Kosovo (Revised Edition, Geneva, June 2001), p. 15.

[11] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 20 February 2017.

[12] Ibid., 12 April 2016.

[13] ICRC, Cluster Bombs and Landmines in Kosovo: Explosive Remnants of War (Revised Edition, Geneva, June 2001), pp. 4 and 6; and HALO, “Action on cluster munitions in Kosovo,” 10 September 2015.

[14] Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions Government Policy and Practice (Mines Action Canada, Ottawa, 2009), p. 238; and ICRC, Cluster Bombs and Landmines in Kosovo: Explosive Remnants of War (Revised Edition, Geneva, June 2001), p. 6.

[15] Andrew Moore, HALO, “Action on cluster munitions in Kosovo,” Side event, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference, Dubrovnik, 10 September 2015.

[16] Ibid.

[17] NPA, “Cluster Munition Remnants in Northern Kosovo: non-technical survey of contamination and impact,” September 2015; and email from Goran Peršic, NPA Bosnia and Herzegovina, 13 May 2016.

[18] Email from Goran Peršic, NPA Bosnia and Herzegovina, 13 May 2016.

[19] NPA, “Cluster Munition Remnants in Northern Kosovo: non-technical survey of contamination and impact,” September 2015.

[20] UNMIK, “OKPCC EOD Management Section Annual Report 2008,” Pristina, 12 January 2009, p. 4.

[21] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 1 August 2012.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Ibid., 20 February 2017; and from Andrew Moore, then Caucasus and Balkans Desk Officer, HALO, 2 June 2016.

[24] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 20 February 2017; and from Ash Boddy, HALO, 29 April 2017.

[25] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 16 June and 3 July 2017.

[26] Ibid., 12 April 2016; and from Andrew Moore, 2 June 2016.

[27] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 12 April 2016.

[28] HALO Trust, “Action on cluster munitions in Kosovo,” Side event, First Convention on Cluster Munitions Review Conference, Dubrovnik, 10 September 2015.

[29] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 16 March 2017.

[30] Ibid., and 7 June 2016.

[31] Email from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 29 April 2017.

[32] NPA, “Cluster Munition Remnants in Northern Kosovo: non-technical survey of contamination and impact,” September 2015.

[33] Email from Terje Eldøen, Country Director, NPA Kosovo, 4 May 2017.

[34] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 16 March 2017; and from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 29 April 2017.

[35] Emails from Andrew Moore, HALO Trust, 1 October 2016; and from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 12 April 2016.

[36] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 16 March 2017. There is a slight discrepancy in the reported data, as HALO reported that it conducted clearance on 14 minefields (10 cleared and 4 suspended), destroying 37 antipersonnel mines and 25 items of UXO. Email from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 29 April 2017.

[37] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 16 March and 18 September 2017.

[38] Emails from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 29 April and 30 July 2017.

[39] Ibid.

[40] Ibid., 30 July 2017.

[41] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 16 March 2017.

[42] Email from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 29 April 2017.

[43] Ibid., 20 February 2017; and from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 4 May 2017.

[44] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 20 February 2017.

[45] Emails from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 4 May and 5 May 2017.

[46] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 20 February 2017.

[47] Ibid., 12 April 2016.

[48] Ibid., 20 February 2017.

[49] Email from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 23 June 2017.

[50] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 20 February 2017. Of the 362,916m2 reported by KMAC for HALO, 217,830m2 was BAC and the remainder was manual mine clearance. Email from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 23 June 2017.

[51] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 20 February 2017; from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 4 May 2017; and from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 29 April 2017.

[52] HALO Trust, “Action on cluster munitions in Kosovo,” Side event, First Convention on Cluster Munitions Review Conference, Dubrovnik, 10 September 2015.

[53] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 16 March 2017.

[54] See Landmine Monitor and Mine Action Review reports on Kosovo covering 2011–2014.

[55] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 20 February 2017; and from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 29 April 2017.

[56] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 16 March 2017.

[57] Email from Andrew Moore, HALO Trust, 1 October 2016.

[58] Email from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 29 April 2017.


Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 11 December 2017

In 2016, three donors contributed some US$180,000 to mine action in Kosovo.[1]

International contributions: 2016[2]

Donor

Sector

Amount (national currency)

Amount (US$)

Switzerland

Clearance

CHF136,580

138,688

Netherlands

Clearance

€23,650

26,185

Turkey

Victim assistance

N/A

25,000

Total

 

 

189,873

Note: N/A = not applicable.

Since 2012, international assistance to mine action in Kosovo has varied significantly. While contributions have totaled more than $3 million, they have not exceeded more than $800,000 in the past four years.

Summary of contributions: 2012–2016[3]

Year

Amount ($)

% change from previous year

2016

189,873

-75

2015

785,889

+158

2014

291,304

-40

2013

485,069

-64

2012

1,490,814

+94

Total

3,242,949

 

 



[1] Switzerland, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form I, 28 April 2017; response to Monitor questionnaire by Olivia Douwes, Policy Officer, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2017; and ITF Enhancing Human Security, “Annual Report 2016,” April 2017, p. 25.

[2] Average exchange rate for 2016: CHF0.9848=US$1; €1=US$1.1072. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 4 January 2017.

[3] See previous Monitor reports. Totals for international support in 2015 and 2014 have been rectified as a result of revised United States (US) funding data. Total for 2012 has also been rectified as a result of database clean-up.


Casualties

Last updated: 16 June 2017

Casualties Overview

All known casualties from 1999 to end 2016

576 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (117 killed; 459 injured)

Casualties occurring in 2016

1 (2015: 1)

2016 casualties by survival outcome

1 killed; 0 injured (2015: 0 killed; 1 injured)

2016 casualties by device type

1 ERW (2015: 1 ERW)

 

One new ERW casualty was reported in Kosovo in 2016. A female adult civilian was killed in Pristina in an incident with a hand grenade.[1] One ERW casualty was also reported in Kosovo in 2015.[2]

The 2016 casualty total was the same as that of 2015 and represented a decrease from 2014, when five casualties were reported. In 2013, no mine/ERW casualties were reported.[3] In 2012, seven mine/ERW casualties were identified in Kosovo in four separate incidents.[4] No casualties from antipersonnel mines in minefields have been reported in Kosovo since 2004.

Between 1999 and 2014, 575 mine/ERW casualties (116 killed; 459 injured) were identified in Kosovo. More than three quarters of all mine/ERW casualties (438, or 76%) were recorded between 1999 and 2000.[5]

Casualties continued in 2017. Two boys were injured in an ERW incident with a rifle grenade in March.[6]

Casualty data is received from the police and entered into the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database at the Kosovo Mine Action Center (KMAC). The data is considered by KMAC to be very accurate as all casualties are recorded.[7]

Cluster munition casualties

At least 180 casualties from incidents involving unexploded submunitions were recorded between 1999 and the end of 2014. There were no cluster munition casualties in 2015 or 2016. This total includes two new cluster munition casualties recorded in two separate incidents in 2014.[8] An additional 25 casualties, which occurred during cluster munition strikes in 1999, were also recorded.[9]



[1] Email from Ahmet Sallova, Head, Kosovo Mine Action Center (KMAC), 17 March 2017.

[2] Ibid., 4 March 2015.

[3] Email from Andrew Moore, HALO Trust, 25 June 2013.

[4] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 30 September 2013.

[5] Ibid.; and “List of Mine/UXO Civilian Victims in Kosovo 1999–2010,” provided by email from Bajram Krasniqi, Ministry for the Kosovo Security Force (MKSF), 21 March 2011.

[6] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 17 March 2017.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Handicap International (HI), Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 69; “Mine wounds two children in Kosovo,” Agence France-Presse (Pristina), 9 April 2007; “Land mine explodes in Kosovo; 4 children injured,” International Herald Tribune, 9 November 2007; email from Bajram Krasniqi, UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), 5 May 2009; and telephone interview with Bajram Krasniqi, UNMIK, 1 July 2009.

[9] HI, Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 69.


Casualties and Victim Assistance

Last updated: 12 July 2016

Casualties

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2015

575 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (116 killed; 459 injured)

Casualties in 2015

1 (2014: 5)

2015 casualties by outcome

0 killed; 1 injured (2014: 1 killed; 4 injured)

2015 casualties by item type

1 ERW (2014: 2 unexploded submunitions; 3 ERW)

 

One new ERW casualty was reported in Kosovo in 2015. A civilian was injured in an incident with a hand grenade.[1] Five cluster submunition and ERW casualties were reported in Kosovo in 2014.[2]

The 2015 casualty figure is a decrease from 2014 and similar to 2013 when no mine/ERW casualties were reported.[3] In 2012, seven mine/ERW casualties were identified in Kosovo in four separate incidents.[4] No casualties from antipersonnel mines in minefields have been reported in Kosovo since 2004.

Between 1999 and 2014, 575 mine/ERW casualties (116 killed; 459 injured) were identified in Kosovo. More than three quarters of all mine/ERW casualties (438 or 76%) were recorded between 1999 and 2000.[5]

Cluster munition casualties

At least 180 casualties from incidents involving unexploded submunitions were recorded between 1999 and the end of 2014. This total includes two new cluster munition casualties recorded in two separate incidents in 2014.[6] An additional 25 casualties, which occurred during cluster munition strikes in 1999, were also recorded.[7]

Victim Assistance

Protection of the rights of persons with disabilities is overseen by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.[8] Legislation to ensure equal access to services for persons with disabilities exists, but implementation was challenging and administrative procedures required simplification. Inadequate institutional support and health services, and poor accessibility, hindered fulfilling the rights of persons with disabilities. Kosovo needed to improve the integration of persons with disabilities through better implementation of its 2013-2023 strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities and the strategy’s action plan for 2013-2015. Health and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities are insufficient. Physical access to public institutions remained a challenge. The National Disability Council failed to adequately promote the rights of persons with disabilities through implementation of the strategy and action plan because it lacked support for undertaking its coordinating role from the Office for Good Governance, which is led by the office of the Prime Minister.[9]

 



[1] Email from Ahmet Sallova, Head, Kosovo Mine Action Center (KMAC), 4 May 2016.

[2] Ibid., 4 March 2015.

[3] Email from Andrew Moore, HALO Trust, 25 June 2013.

[4] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 30 September 2013.

[5] Ibid.; and “List of Mine/UXO Civilian Victims in Kosovo 1999–2010,” provided by email from Bajram Krasniqi, Ministry for the Kosovo Security Force (MKSF), 21 March 2011.

[6] Handicap International (HI), Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 69; “Mine wounds two children in Kosovo,” Agence France-Presse (Pristina), 9 April 2007; “Land mine explodes in Kosovo; 4 children injured,” International Herald Tribune, 9 November 2007; email from Bajram Krasniqi, UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), 5 May 2009; and telephone interview with Bajram Krasniqi, UNMIK, 1 July 2009.

[8] United States Department of State, “2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Kosovo,” Washington, DC, 13 April 2016.

[9] European Commission, “Kosovo 2015 Report,” Commission Staff Working Document, 10 November 2015, pp. 12, 20, and 24.