Kosovo

Mine Action

Last updated: 19 November 2018

Treaty status

Mine Ban Treaty

Kosovo cannot accede to the Mine Ban Treaty due to its political status

Convention on Cluster Munitions

Kosovo cannot accede to Convention on Cluster Munitions due to its political status

Mine action management

National mine action management actors

Kosovo Mine Action Center (KMAC) under the Ministry of the Kosovo Security Forces

Mine action strategic plan

Kosovo Mine Action Program 2015–2018 multi-year strategic plan

A new strategic plan for 2019–2024 is being developed with a section dedicated to the clearance of cluster munition remnants

Mine action legislation

Law on humanitarian demining, adopted on 11 April 2012

Mine action standards

National mine action standards

Operators in 2017

National:

Kosovo Security Forces (KSF)

 

International:

HALO Trust

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)

Extent of contamination as of end 2017

Landmines

1.6km2

Extent of contamination: light

Cluster munition remnants

15.4km2

Other ERW contamination

Contaminated by other ERW

Land release in 2017

Landmines

0.23km2 cleared and 0.89km2 reduced. 164 antipersonnel mines destroyed during mine clearance and EOD spot tasks. 1 antivehicle mine destroyed

Cluster munition remnants

0.9km2 cleared, 0.5km2 reduced, 2,290m2 canceled, 69 submunitions destroyed during survey, clearance, and spot tasks

Other ERW

Contaminated by other ERW, including AXO

Progress

Landmines

KMAC expects to complete clearance of antipersonnel mines by 2021, if sufficient funding is available

Cluster munition remnants

Clearance of cluster munition remnants is not expected to be completed before 2024

Note: ERW = explosive remnants of war; EOD = explosive ordinance disposal; AXO = abandoned explosive ordnance.

 

Contamination

Kosovo is contaminated by mines, cluster munition remnants, and other ERW, 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 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states in 1999.[1]

The United Nations (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]

 

Mine contamination

At the end of 2017, 49 mined areas covered more than 1.6km2, down from 58 mined areas over 1.9km2 the year before.[4] The difference in the number of mined areas between the two years, though, cannot be satisfactorily reconciled.

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.[5]

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.[6] Mines in Kosovo impede use of land for agriculture, pasture, tourism, the building of infrastructure, and firewood collection, and most directly affect the rural poor.[7] Many of the minefields cleared by HALO Trust in Kosovo are only a few meters from occupied houses.[8]

 

Cluster munition contamination

At the end of 2017, contamination from cluster munition remnants in Kosovo was estimated to cover a total of 15.4km2 across 49 areas according to KMAC.[9] This compares to 15km2 across 53 areas at the end of 2016.[10]

Contamination is primarily a result of conflict between the FRY and KLA in the late 1990s, and between the FRY and NATO in 1999.[11] During Operation Allied Force, NATO aircraft bombed 333 locations between 24 March and 10 June 1999, dropping 1,392 bombs that released more than 295,700 submunitions.[12] Forces of the FRY also used cluster munitions during the 1998–1999 conflict in Kosovo.[13] The failure rate of the submunitions was typically between 10% and 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.[14]

Cluster munition contamination in Kosovo is said to impede and endanger use of land for agriculture, pasture, tourism, and firewood collection, and most directly affects the rural poor.[15] Kosovo is small geographically with a relatively large population, and submunitions are often found in close proximity to human activity.[16] In 2017, at the Kryshec clearance task in the Peje district, HALO Trust reported that the primary land use after clearance was for residential purposes, with local residents looking to build houses.[17]

NPA’s 2015 non-technical survey 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.[18] In the three cluster munition-contaminated provinces in northern Kosovo, NPA identified 995 local inhabitants as being directly vulnerable, and a further 1,027 as indirectly vulnerable.[19]

 

Other explosive remnants of war

Kosovo remains affected by ERW, other than cluster munition remnants. Most ERW consists of unexploded aircraft bombs (located mainly in the west of Kosovo) and items of AXO. However, EOD teams continue to encounter items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) dating back to World War II.[20] Kosovo Protection Force (KFOR) EOD teams regularly dispose of ERW 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 the clearance of mines and ERW. It prepares an annual workplan in cooperation with demining NGOs and coordinates operations of both NGOs and the KFOR. It also coordinates survey, quality assurance (QA), risk education, public information, and victim assistance.[22]

 

Strategic planning

The current 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] A new strategic plan for 2019–2024 is being developed with the aim of clearing all minefields by 2021.[24]

A nationwide baseline socio-economic impact assessment conducted in 2018 will guide the development of the new strategic plan.[25] The assessment is being conducted by KMAC, with the support of HALO Trust. The result will be used to prioritize release of the remaining hazardous areas according to need and according to national development priorities.[26] The assessment began on 12 March 2018 and was expected to be completed at the end of May, however, there have been some delays due to difficulties obtaining information about land ownership. As of 1 October 2018, the impact assessment and prioritization of future tasks was expected to be completed and signed off by the end of the month.[27]

 

Legislation and standards

Kosovo has a law on humanitarian demining, which was adopted on 11 April 2012, in addition to a number of other relevant regulations.[28] Kosovo has mine action standards in place, which are said to conform to the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).[29]

 

Operators 

The KSF provide clearance capacity in Kosovo, including around-the-clock EOD emergency response.[30] NGOs have also been conducting land release of mined area in Kosovo, including HALO Trust, the Bosnia-based Mine Detection Dog Centre (MDDC), and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).[31]

KSF reported that in 2017 it deployed one platoon for demining operations; a reduction from the three platoons it deployed the year before.[32]

In 2017, HALO deployed nine manual demining teams and two battle area clearance (BAC) teams, with an average total operational staff of 97 (deminers, team leaders, supervisors, and medics combined). This was a similar capacity to 2016.[33]

NPA started technical survey for cluster munition remnants in November 2016, with follow-on clearance beginning in February 2017.[34] In 2017, NPA supported KSF demining operations with one team of two mine detection dogs (MDDs). As of September 2018, the MDDs had also been deployed for technical survey in northern Kosovo.[35]

 

Land Release

A total of just over 0.23km2 of mined area was released by clearance in 2017 and a further 0.89km2 reduced by technical survey.

 

Survey in 2017

In 2017, KMAC reported that HALO Trust reduced 88,934m2 by technical survey.[36]

 

Clearance in 2017

KSF and the HALO Trust cleared a combined total of more than 0.23km2 in 2017, an increase from just over 0.15km2 in 2016.[37]

Mine clearance in 2017[38]

Operator

Areas cleared

Area cleared (m2)

AP mines destroyed

AV mines destroyed

KSF

1 suspended

16,690

2

0

HALO

12 cleared and 8 suspended

215,575

30

1

Total

 

232,265

32

1

AP = Anti-personnel   AV = Anti-vehicle

KSF cleared one mined area in 2017, totaling 16,690m2, destroying two antipersonnel mines. 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.

NPA deployed two MDDs in support of KSF, clearing 4,055m2 of the 16,690m2 and destroying one antipersonnel mine. KSF also conducted EOD spot tasks during which it destroyed 129 antipersonnel mines in 2017.[39]

In contrast to the figures reported by KMAC for 2017, HALO reported that it had cleared 12 areas and suspended eight others totaling 229,265m2. This is 14,151m2 more than KMAC reported that they cleared. Despite working in confirmed mined areas, HALO cleared 35,188m2, which contained no antipersonnel mines. In 2017, HALO destroyed three antipersonnel mines during EOD callouts.[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 0.9km2 of cluster munition-contaminated area was cleared in 2017, while just over 0.5km2 was reduced by technical survey and 2,290m2 was canceled by non-technical survey.[43]


Survey in 2017 (cluster munition remnants)

In 2017, NPA reduced 501,510m2 by technical survey and canceled 2,290m2 by non-technical survey in Tovariste and reduced 350m2 by technical survey in Boljetin Zvečan municipality, and reduced 4,836m2 by technical survey in Berim, Zubin Potok municipality, northern Kosovo.[44] A total of seven submunitions were destroyed during technical survey.[45] NPA is now using a cluster munitions remnants survey (CMRS)-inspired methodology, which has been modified to take account of the conditions in Kosovo.[46]


Clearance in 2017 (cluster munition remnants)

Collectively, KSF, HALO, and NPA cleared almost 0.88km2 in 2017, with the destruction of 64 submunitions (see table below).[47] This represents a significant increase on the 0.47km2 cleared in 2016.[48]

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated area in 2017[49]

Operator

Areas cleared

Area cleared (m2)

Submunitions destroyed

Other UXO destroyed

KSF

0

189,325

0

714

HALO

5

441,180

16

1

NPA

2

249,384

*48

1

Total

7

879,899

64

716

*Including the seven submunitions destroyed during technical survey.

According to KMAC, cluster munition-contaminated areas with high impact are prioritized for clearance. This is based on the number, location, and livelihoods of communities at risk.[50] According to NPA, along with expected impact, political and cultural factors were also taken into account when assigning tasks.[51] Clearance operations focus on areas confirmed as cluster munition-contaminated rather than on suspected hazardous areas (SHAs).[52] In 2017, however, one area was partially cleared and then released as no submunitions were found.[53]

During EOD spot tasks in 2017, five submunitions were destroyed.[54]

 

Progress towards completion of antipersonnel mine clearance

KMAC expects to complete clearance of antipersonnel mines in Kosovo by 2021, but it reported in 2018 that securing funding for NGOs may pose an obstacle to this completion date.[55] 

Mine clearance in 2013–2017[56]

Year

Area cleared

(km2)

2017

0.23

2016

0.15

2015

0.22

2014

*0.84

2013

*0.40

Total

1.84

* Figure combines mine clearance and BAC

Unfortunately, misinformation persists that mine and cluster munition remnant 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.[57]

 

Progress towards completion of cluster munition clearance 

With adequate funding, KMAC and HALO predict that clearance of cluster munition remnants will be completed by 2024.[58]

 

 

 

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the primary mine action research in 2018 and shared all its country-level landmine reports (from “Clearing the Mines 2018”) and country-level cluster munition reports (from “Clearing Cluster Munition Remnants 2018”) with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.



[1] See, United Nations 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 (Rev’d Edn., 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] Email from Ahmet Sallova, Head, KMAC, 4 May 2018.

[5] Explosive Remnants of War, Cluster Bombs and Landmines in Kosovo (Rev’d Edn., Geneva, June 2001), p. 15.

[6] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 30 July 2013.

[7] Ibid., 12 April 2016; from Andrew Moore, Caucasus and Balkans Desk Officer, HALO Trust, 1 October 2016; and from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018.

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

[9] Email from Ahmet Sallova, Head, KMAC, 4 May 2018.

[10] Ibid., 20 February 2017.

[11] See, UNMIK, “UNMIK OKPCC EOD Management Section Annual Report 2005,” Pristina, 18 January 2006, p. 2; and ICRC, Explosive Remnants of War, Cluster Bombs and Landmines in Kosovo (Rev’d Edn, Geneva, June 2001), p. 6.

[12] ICRC, Explosive Remnants of War, Cluster Bombs and Landmines in Kosovo (Rev’d Edn, Geneva, June 2001), pp. 4 and 6; and HALO Trust, “Action on cluster munitions in Kosovo,” 10 September 2015.

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

[14] A. Moore, Regional Director Europe, HALO Trust, “Action on cluster munitions in Kosovo,” Side event, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference, Dubrovnik, 10 September 2015.

[15] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018.

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

[17] Email from Tom Welling, Programme Manager, HALO Trust, 7 May 2018.

[18] NPA, “Cluster Munition Remnants in Northern Kosovo: non-technical survey of contamination and impact,” September 2015, pp. 7 and 18.

[19] Ibid.

[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, HALO Trust, 2 June 2016.

[24] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018.

[25] Email from Tom Wellings, HALO Trust, 7 May 2018.

[26] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018; and from Tom Wellings, HALO Trust, 7 May 2018.

[27] Emails from Tom Wellings, HALO Trust, 7 May and 5 October 2018.

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

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

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

[31] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018.

[32] Ibid.

[33] Email from Rhys Mansel, Capability Support Officer, HALO Trust, 28 May 2018.

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

[35] Ibid., 24 September 2018.

  [36] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018. There is a discrepancy in the reported data between HALO Trust and KMAC as HALO did not report any technical survey in 2017.

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

[38] Ibid.. There is a slight discrepancy in the reported data, as HALO Trust reported that its clearance totaled 229,726m2 rather than 215,575m2. Email from Tom Wellings, HALO Trust, 7 May 2018.

[39] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018: and from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 24 September 2018.

[40] Emails from Tom Wellings, HALO Trust, 7 May 2018; and from Arber Binakaj, Data & IT Manager, HALO Trust, 21 September 2018.

[41] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018.

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

[43] Ibid; from Tom Welling, HALO Trust, 7 May 2018; and from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 21 June 2018.

[44] Email from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 11 June 2018.

[45] Ibid., 21 June 2018.

[46] Ibid., 11 June 2018.

[47] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018; from Tom Welling, HALO Trust, 7 May 2018; and from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 7 May 2018.

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

[49] Ibid., 4 May 2018; from Tom Welling, HALO Trust, 7 May 2018; and from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 7 May and 21 June 2018.

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

[51] Email from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 7 May 2018.

[52] Email from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018.

[53] Ibid.

[54] Ibid.

[55] Ibid.

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

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

[58] Emails from Ahmet Sallova, KMAC, 4 May 2018; from Tom Welling, HALO Trust, 7 May 2018; and from Terje Eldøen, NPA, 7 May 2018.