Armenia

Mine Action

Last updated: 12 November 2018

 

Treaty status

Mine Ban Treaty

Non-signatory

Mine action management

National mine action management actors

No formally constituted national mine action program
The Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise (CHDE)

Mine action strategic plan

National Strategy Plan on Mine Action, draft developed in 2018

Mine action legislation

Draft law submitted to the National Assembly for review in 2018

Mine action standards

National Mine Action Standards (NMAS)

Operators in 2017

The Armenian Peacekeeping Engineering Brigade (PKEB)
CHDE

Extent of contamination as of end 2017

Landmines and UXO

5.74km2 CHA and 3.83km2 SHA
Extent of antipersonnel mine contamination: light

Cluster munition remnants

Limited contamination identified in 2017

Land release in 2017

Landmines

None

ERW

0.5km2 was confirmed to be contaminated with cluster munition remnants and other ERW. Partial clearance of 0.06km2 was conducted. Two cluster munition remnants and two items of other ERW were found

Progress

Landmines

No survey or clearance was conducted in 2017 due to lack of capacity, and progress has been slow over the last few years
Mine Detection Dogs (MDDs) were to be introduced to increase PKEB’s capacity, but failed their accreditation in 2017. As of September 2018 there were no plans to bring MDDs back

Notes: CHA = confirmed hazardous area; SHA = suspected hazardous area;ERW = explosive remnants of war.

Contamination

As of the end of 2017, the Republic of Armenia had more than 5.7km2 of confirmed mined area and a further 3.8km2 of suspected mined area, as set out in the table below. The mined areas contained antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, or a combination of both, as well as unexploded ordnance (UXO).[1]Of 97 CHAs, 56 contain antipersonnel mines, totaling just over 2.9km2. Three of the six SHAs, totaling just over 0.1km2, may also be contaminated by antipersonnel mines.[2]

Mine contamination (at end 2017)[3]

Type of contamination

CHAs

Area (m2)

SHAs

Area (m2)

AP mines

42

2,201,286

3

105,500

AV mines

41

2,810,916

3

3,728,442

AP and AV mines

11

706,046

0

0

AP mines and UXO

2

12,769

0

0

AP and AV mines and UXO

1

4,842

0

0

Total

97

5,735,859

6

3,833,942

Note: AP = antipersonnel; AV = antivehicle.

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

Mine contamination by province (at end 2017)[5]

Province

Type of contamination

CHAs

Area (m2)

SHAs

Area (m2)

Gegharqunik

AP mines

3

584,022

2

105,123

AV mines

5

2,428,128

3

3,728,442

Syunik

AP mines

33

1,449,713

1

377

AV mines

23

299,733

0

0

AP and AV mines

8

676,617

0

0

AP mines and UXO

2

12,769

0

0

AP and AV mines and UXO

1

4,842

0

0

Tavush

AP mines

6

167,551

0

0

AV mines

10

15,603

0

0

AP and AV mines

3

29,429

0

0

Vayots Dzor

AV mines

3

67,452

0

0

Total

 

97

5,735,859

6

3,833,942

Note: AP = antipersonnel;AV = antivehicle.

Mine and ERW contamination in Armenia is primarily the consequence of armed conflict with Azerbaijan in 1988–1994, in which both sides used 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.[6] 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.[7]

FSD was mandated by the government of Armenia to survey impacted communities 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.[8]

Territory seized from Azerbaijan during the conflict is believed to be significantly contaminated by mines and ERW, including unexploded submunitions.[9] However, the precise extent of contamination in those districts is unknown. (See the Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh profiles for details.)

Mine contamination in Armenia impacts a range of development activities, including agriculture and tourism.[10] Mine contamination blocks access to pasture or arable land and hinders the implementation of community development projects and the development of infrastructure. Mine-affected communities are more socially and economically isolated and less likely to benefit from the flow of tourism to the area.[11]

Program Management

The Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise (CHDE) is a civilian, non-commercial state body 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.[12] The CHDE has an advisory board, composed of representatives from the ministries of defense, emergency situations,territorial administration, education, and science and justice.[13] In 2013, a government decree made the CHDE Armenia’s National Mine Action Center (see section on Legislation and standards below).[14] The CHDE is said to offer equal employment opportunities for both men and women. The roles are nearly equally divided between men and women, and most women occupy senior or leadership positions.[15]

Strategic planning

Armenia does not yet have a formally constituted national mine action program or strategy.[16]

As of August 2018, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a final draft of the National Strategic Plan on Mine Action had been developed, which was due to be presented to the government of Armenia for approval before the end of the year. The main elements of the draft plan are to address, as a priority, antipersonnel mine contamination with a humanitarian impact as well as to work on demining in support of the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.[17]

Priority for clearance is based on CHDE criteria. The first priority is given to contaminated areas that are up to 1km away from a populated area; the second to those near agricultural land; and the third priority is given to contaminated areas that have a negative impact on the environment. These are mostly located in high mountainous zones.[18]

Legislation and standards

As of August 2018, a draft mine action law, developed with the support of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), had been submitted to the national assembly for review.[19] The law was drafted in conformity with a 2013 decree according to which, as well as drafting a law, the CHDE would draft a mine action strategy for discussion among the government in the first half of 2016, in addition to proposing possible amendments to national mine action standards covering explosive ordnance disposal (EOD)and the use of MDDs.[20]

National Mine Action Standards (NMAS) were approved by the government in April 2014.[21]

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) on manual mine clearance and battle area clearance (BAC) have been elaborated.[22] The CHDE will further develop its SOPs once the draft law on mine action has been adopted.[23]

Operators

The PKEB and the CHDE conduct mine action operations. In 2017, the PKEB was unable to deploy any teams for clearance or technical survey as it had other missions to accomplish, whereas it deployed two six-strong manual clearance teams the previous year.[24] The CHDE deployed one team of five for non-technical survey, technical survey, and BAC.[25] This represented a considerable decrease in capacity compared to 2015, as no international clearance organization undertook demining operations in Armenia in 2016 or 2017.[26]

In 2017, however, six MDDs that were introduced to Armenia in 2016 for use in PKEB’s technical survey failed their accreditation and were returned so could not be involved in demining operations as planned. As part of the project, Bosnian Mine Detection Dog Center (MDDC) trainers were leading a dog-handler integration course with PKEB dog handlers.[27] As of September 2018, there were no plans to bring back MDDs to Armenia, although the CHDE is open to discuss the possibility of involving adequately trained MDDs in its operations in the future.[28]

HALO Trust ended its mine clearance operations in 2015. However it continues to provide advice and training to the CHDE, as and when required.[29] An agreement in 2017 concerns HALO support for safe quality assurance of tasks that straddle the border. These operations were ongoing in 2018 and were expected to continue beyond the end of the year. In addition, HALO conducted first aid training for the CHDE in April 2017 and provided training on BAC in October 2017.[30]

In December 2013, the Foundation for Demining and Demolition (FDD) was established as a national, civilian, and non-commercial demining organization in Armenia with support from the CHDE, Geowulf LLC, FSD, and the government of Armenia.[31] Its main tasks are to conduct demining and destroy expired or obsolete arms and ammunition in Armenia; it also undertakes research, dog breeding, and supplies machinery.[32] As of August 2018, FDD had not conducted any demining operations since its creation nor are there any current plans for it to do so.[33]

Land Release

No survey or clearance of mined area was conducted in 2017. This compares to 0.02km2,which was released by clearance and cancellation by non-technical survey of 14.4km2 in 2016.[34]

Survey in 2017

No mined area was surveyed in 2017, but a small amount of ERW survey did take place. Upon receiving information of an incident involving cluster munition remnants in the Kornidzor area of the Tegh community in the Syunik province, the CHDE conducted a “double” non-technical survey (meaning survey of an area that has already been surveyed) and confirmed a hazardous area covering 500,004m2 as contaminated with cluster munition remnants and other ERW.[35] The CHDE also implemented “double” non-technical survey in the Khnatsakh community of Syunik province in an area contaminated with antivehicle mines. As a result, a CHA of 438m2 was cancelled.[36]

Clearance in 2017

No mined areas were cleared in 2017. BAC was conducted following non-technical survey in the Kornidzor area of the Tegh community in Syunik province confirming an area of 500,004m2. Partial clearance of 64,191m2 was conducted and two cluster munition remnants and two items of other ERW were found.[37]

Progress in 2018

In 2018, the CHDE planned to implement the following activities:

  • Manual clearance of 25,200m2 of area containing antipersonnel mines by two teams from the PKEB in Davit Bek in Syunik province.
  • Continuation of BAC activities in Kornidzor in Syunik province.
  • “Double” non-technical survey in Gegharqunik province.[38]

Progress towards completion

No target date has been set for the completion of mine clearance in Armenia, due to the uncertainty of future capacity and funding.[39] Moreover, over the past five years, demining in Armenia has been slow, as the table below illustrates. In 2017, no demining took place.

Mine clearance in 2013–2017[40]

Year

Area cleared (km2)

2017

0

2016

0.02

2015

0.07

2014

0.04

2013

0

Total

0.13

 

One of the objectives of the Armenian Mine Action Strategy 2007–2011 was to release, through technical survey and clearance, 2.2% (7km2) of the SHAs identified by the landmine impact survey (LIS) and 6.8% of the SHAs outside the restricted military zone.[41] However, scant progress was made towards these targets.[42] Armenia reports that challenges in its mine and ERW clearance include the low level of contamination and the random distribution of mines.[43]

 

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] Email from Margaret Lazyan, Head of Mine Risk Education and Victim Assistance, Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise, CHDE, 8 August 2018.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid., 1 October 2018.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Emails from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 19 March 2014, and 28 April 2017, and interview in Geneva, 1 April 2014.

[7] CHDE, “FSD non-technical mine action survey,” CHDE, Yerevan, 2013, p. 9; and emails from Varsine Miskaryan, CHDE, 8 August 2016; and from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 28 April 2017.

[9] Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), “ANAMA 2017,” undated.

[10] Email from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 28 April 2017.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Armenian Ministry of Defense, “The New Legal Status of the Humanitarian De-Mining Center,” 13 February 2014; and email from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 26 September 2018.

[13] Email from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 27 September 2018.

[14] Email from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 8 June 2015.

[15] Email from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 8 August 2018.

[16] Email from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 30 March 2015.

[17] Emails from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 8 August and 27 September 2018.

[18] Ibid., 8 August 2018.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Emails from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 30 March 2015; and from Varsine Miskaryan, CHDE, 3 September 2015.

[21] Emails from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 19 March 2014, and 30 March 2015.

[22] Email from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 8 August 2018.

[23] Email from Varsine Miskaryan, CHDE, 8 August 2016.

[24] Emails from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 28 April 2017; and from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 27 September 2018.

[25] Email from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 27 September 2018.

[26] Ibid., 8 August 2018.

[27] Email from Varsine Miskaryan, CHDE, 8 August 2016.

[28] Email from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 27 September 2018.

[29] Emails from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 28 April 2017; and from Ash Boddy, Regional Director, HALO Trust, 31 March 2017.

[30] Emails from Ash Boddy, HALO Trust, 13 July 2018; and from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 8 August 2018.

[31] Email from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 20 March 2014.

[32] Ibid., 19 March 2014; and from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 27 September 2018.

[33] Email from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 8 August 2018.

[34] Email from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 28 April 2017.

[35] Email from Margaret Lazyan, CHDE, 8 August 2018.

[36] Ibid.

[37] Ibid.

[38] Ibid.

[39] Ibid.

[40] See Landmine Monitor reports on Armenia in 2011–2014; and CHDE, “FSD non-technical mine action survey,” Yerevan, 2013, p. 21.

[41] Armenia, “Armenia Mine Action Strategy 2007–2011,” Yerevan, 2006, p. 36.

[42] See, V. Bohle and N. Weigel, EC-Funded Mine Actions in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), 2009, pp. 25–31.

[43] Ibid.; and email from Ruben Arakelyan, CHDE, 28 April 2017.