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Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country Summary

The Republic of Serbia became a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 March 2004. Since then, Serbia has requested two extensions to its Article 5 clearance deadline: a five-year extension request submitted in March 2013 with a deadline of 1 March 2019, and a four-year extension request submitted in March 2018 with a deadline of 1 March 2023.

Serbia is contaminated by landmines as a legacy of armed conflicts associated with the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, and also as a result of the use of mines in 2000–2001 in the municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo by a non-state armed group (NSAG). The municipality of Preševo has been free from mine contamination since 2014. Bujanovac is now the only municipality in Serbia still contaminated by mines. Serbia also reports contamination by cluster munitions, aircraft bombs and rockets, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW).

Serbia reports that clearance and survey efforts are complicated by the mine contamination being random and unrecorded. Progress toward meeting its new clearance deadline of 2023 is contingent on funding, and Serbia has calculated that it requires €2.5 million (US$2.8 million) to complete the release of all remaining mined areas.[1]

Serbia has not joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In the period 2010–2020, Serbia reported the release of 8.5km², which included 7.1km² through clearance and 1.4km² through technical survey. In the 10-year period, Serbia reported the clearance and destruction of 1,115 cluster munition remnants.[2] In 2010–2013, significant progress was made in clearing cluster munition-contaminated areas, but since then progress has stalled.

Explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) is coordinated by the Serbian Mine Action Center (SMAC). A risk education training center was to be established within the SMAC, which planned to conduct risk education activities in the municipality of Bujanovac in 2020.

The last confirmed landmine-related casualties in Serbia were reported in 2005. Over half of all casualties recorded since 2016 were caused by unexploded submunitions.

Serbia is responsible for significant numbers of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other ERW in need of support. In 2017, Serbia reported a total of 1,123 survivors (790 men and 333 women) with disabilities.[3]

Serbia’s working group on victim assistance is inactive. Bureaucratic procedures have made it difficult to access rehabilitation services. Local survivor associations provided psychological and peer-to-peer support to mine victims and family members, as professional psychological support through the public health sector was insufficient. The social inclusion of persons with disabilities required significant improvement, and many continued to suffer from discrimination and high levels of unemployment. Serbia has recently made efforts to develop veteran and disability protection services, social protection services, and employment opportunities in remote and rural areas. Serbia adopted the Law on the Rights of Soldiers, Disabled Veterans, Civilian Disabled Veterans and Family Members in 2019.

Treaty status

Treaty status overview

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline extension request

Serbia did not meet its extended Article 5 deadline in March 2019, and in March 2018 submitted a second request for the deadline to be extended to 1 March 2023.[4]

The challenges preventing Serbia from meeting the first deadline included a lack of adequate financial resources; the presence of areas contaminated with cluster munitions, aircraft bombs and rockets and other ERW; in addition to mine-contaminated areas.[5]

Following reports of explosions in areas where fires occurred, indicating the presence of mines, Serbia conducted a non-technical survey in the municipality of Bujanovac in October 2019 and marked the suspected hazardous areas (SHA). Serbia reports that it will survey the remaining areas where mine contamination is suspected, to provide a complete picture of the mine problem in the country.[6] In the last five years, Serbia has cleared just over 1km² of mined areas.

In its second Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline extension request, Serbia included a workplan for completion of cluster munition and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance by 2023, at a predicted total cost of €20 million (US$23.6 million),[7] however cluster munition remnants are not disaggregated from other ERW.[8]

According to SMAC, progress in cluster munition clearance is contingent on funding.[9] Serbia predicts that if adequate funds for the implementation of survey and clearance projects were secured, cluster munition clearance could be finished within three years.[10]

In 2010–2013, significant progress was made in clearing cluster munition-contaminated areas, but progress has since stalled. Less than 1km² in total has been cleared over the last five years.

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview[11]

The Ministry of Interior acts as the national mine action authority and is responsible for developing standard operating procedures, accrediting operators, and supervising the work of SMAC.

SMAC is responsible for coordinating mine clearance, collecting and managing mine action information (including casualty data) and surveying SHAs. SMAC also has a mandate to plan demining operations, conduct quality control and monitor operations, ensure implementation of international standards, and conduct risk education.[12]

Serbia reported that there is equal access to employment in the fields of survey and clearance for qualified women and men.[13]

Serbia’s mine action program is integrated into the national sustainable development goals as it contributes to the “achievement of goals such as development of infrastructure, environment protection and enhancement, reduction of poverty.” The municipalities affected by mine/ERW contamination in Serbia are the poorest municipalities. Land release operations enable the implementation of development projects in these municipalities.[14]

In March 2020, SMAC and the Ministry of Defense signed an agreement to increase their cooperation in the field of mine action, including in the training of personnel to conduct surveys and collect data, as well as in the implementation of clearance projects.[15]

Strategic planning

SMAC prioritizes clearance of areas located in close proximity to settlements and where the contamination directly affects the local population. Priority setting also depends on donors.[16]

Jurisdiction

Serbia’s claim to continued jurisdiction over Kosovo entails legal responsibility for remaining mined areas under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty. However, Serbia did not include such areas in either its first or second extension request estimates of remaining contamination or plans for clearance.

SMAC reported that the Office for Kosovo and Metohija coordinated mine action activities on the administrative line with Kosovo and Metohija.[17]

Risk education management and coordination

SMAC coordinates risk education activities in Serbia.[18] In 2019, Serbia approved funds for the establishment of a mine action training center within SMAC. Training will include risk education sessions and will be aimed at members of local governments, civil protection workers, hunters and construction workers.[19]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[20]

Laws and policies

Serbian law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities including in accessing education, employment, health services, buildings, and transportation. However, provisions are not effectively enforced and discrimination continues.[21] The European Commission reported in 2019 that “No progress has been made on the rights of persons with disabilities” in Serbia.[22]

A 1996 law regulating the rights of disabled civilian war veterans covers monthly financial allowances, health care, orthotics, rehabilitation, compensation for funeral expenses, and other financial benefits. This law ensures that the scope of protection envisaged for civilian disabled veterans is the same as for disabled war veterans. A separate law on professional rehabilitation and employment of person with disabilities distinguishes disabled war veterans from peacetime disabled veterans and civilian disabled veterans.[23]

There are many cases where victims have not had their rights recognized or received any form of government support, and these people are instead often supported by local organizations as a short-term solution.[24]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview[25]

Note: CHA=Confirmed Hazardous Area; SHA=Suspected Hazardous Area; ERW=Explosive Remnants of War.

* In addition, the size of the newly discovered SHA in Bujanovac municipality is yet to be determined.

** Includes aircraft bombs, both on land and in its internal waterways.

Mine Contamination

The mine contamination in Serbia is the legacy of the armed conflicts associated with the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s and the use of landmines in 2000–2001 in the municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo by an NSAG, known as the Liberation Army of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. The contamination that still remains in Serbia is a result of this later period of mine use.[26] Contamination also exists within Kosovo (see Kosovo Mine Action profile).

Bujanovac is the only municipality in Serbia that is still affected by mines. The remaining mine contamination is said to have a severe socio-economic impact on Bujanovac, which is Serbia’s least developed municipality. Mined areas block access to local roads, affect the environment, increase the risk of fire, and prevent the construction of solar plants and tobacco-processing facilities. Mined areas also negatively impact regional development by impeding the flow of people, goods, and services, and Serbia believes that demining activities could prevent locals from moving out of the area.[27]

Cluster munition remnants contamination

Cluster munition contamination in Serbia is the result of airstrikes carried out by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in 1999 following the division of the former Yugoslavia. Sixteen municipalities in Serbia were affected by these attacks.[28]

ERW contamination

Serbia estimated in 2020 that it had around 18.5km² of ERW contamination, aside from cluster munition remnants.[29]

Casualties

Casualties overview[30]

Casualties in 2019

In June 2019, three Turkish construction workers were injured by an unexploded submunition in the city of Nis.[31] These were the only reported casualties in Serbia during 2019.

Cluster munition casualties

Over half of all casualties recorded since 2016 were caused by unexploded submunitions. The last confirmed landmine casualties in Serbia were reported in 2005.

Three casualties were identified in 2017. The Ministry of Interior reported two injuries resulting from ERW in 2017,[32] while in May 2017, a deminer was injured by an unexploded submunition during clearance activities at the Dubinje Airport clearance site.[33]

Two people were reported injured in Serbia in 2016; one was injured in an ERW incident,[34] while a deminer was injured in August 2016 in a clearance accident involving an unexploded cluster submunition on Mount Kapoanik, close to a popular ski resort in Kruševac.[35]

The most recent previous casualties due to unexploded submunitions occurred near the same spot in 2012, when two clearance accidents killed three deminers.[36]

At least 78 casualties occurred during NATO cluster munition attacks on Serbia in 1999. A further 19 casualties were caused by unexploded submunitions between 1999 and 2013. Cluster munitions are estimated to have caused more than 100 unreported casualties in Serbia during strikes on Nis. In addition, unexploded submunitions are known to have caused casualties in several regions that were not reported to the authorities.[37]

A survey by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) identified 191 cluster munitions casualties (31 killed; 160 injured) for the period between 1999 and 2008, but details were not provided and the report did not differentiate between casualties during airstrikes and those caused later by unexploded submunitions.[38]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties in Serbia is not known. In 2004, 1,360 casualties (24 killed; 1,336 injured) were reported between 1992 and 2000 by Serbia and Montenegro.[39]

Addressing the Impact

Mine Action

Operators and service providers

In addition to the government bodies and NGOs listed in the table below, 12 national commercial companies and nine international commercial companies were accredited as operators in Serbia.

Clearance operators

Note: ERW=Explosive Remnants of War; NGO=Non-Governmental Organization.

Clearance

Land release overview[40]

Note: ERW=Explosive Remnants of War.

* In 2017, 0.28km² was reduced by technical survey.

There were no security and safety issues for deminers in 2019–2020,[41] and no demining accidents in 2019.[42]

Risk Education

The affected areas are mainly mountainous but are close to population centers, and are reported to impede safe access to forest products, cattle, and mushroom picking, which represent primary sources of income.[43] In 2020, SMAC reported that it planned to conduct risk education activities in the municipality of Bujanovac, with a multi-ethnic risk education team.[44]

Serbia reported that women, men and children are consulted during survey and community liaison activities. The SHAs located in the multi-ethnic municipality of Bujanovac have been marked by warning signs in both Serbian and Albanian languages.[45]

Victim Assistance

Victim assistance operators[46]

Major developments in 2019

A new Law on the Rights of Soldiers, Disabled Veterans, Civilian Disabled Veterans and Family Members was adopted in 2019 and will be implemented as of 1 January 2021. However, victims’ organizations reported that the new law contained discriminatory elements.[47]

Accessibility did not improved in Serbia during 2019, where many public buildings and public transport services were not accessible.[48]

Needs assessment

Serbia has a basic system of recording of persons who exercise their rights as civilian invalids of war. Information on the beneficiaries is transmitted to MoLEVSA by local governments.[49]

Medical care and rehabilitation

MoLEVSA supports rehabilitation for survivors with physical disabilities. This has been ongoing since 2014 in the Special Hospital for Rehabilitation in Vrnjačka Banja.[50] The Specialized Hospital for Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Prosthetics in Belgrade provides comprehensive rehabilitation, including prosthetic fitting and psychological support to military and civilian mine/ERW survivors. Medical care and physical rehabilitation were reported to be generally satisfactory and no major changes were reported in 2019.[51]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

All municipalities in Serbia have services for the protection of veterans and the disabled, which can be contacted by potential recipients seeking specific types of assistance.[52]

There were several organizations providing assistance to victims in regional towns in Serbia. Some, but not all, received funding from the state, with a large number being self-funded. The government provides regular and multi-year project funding, yet funding allocated at the local and municipal levels for local organizations was mostly insufficient and short-term. There was no sustainable support for employment opportunities for mine/ERW survivors.[53] Persons with disabilities had many opportunities to receive training, but very few were able to find a job.[54] Employment of persons with disabilities remained low.[55]

Cross-cutting

Mine/ERW survivors and persons with disabilities living in rural and remote areas of Serbia faced challenges in accessing services due to a lack of accessible public transport and the lack of services in these areas.[56]

Victim assistance services were equally accessible to men and women.[57]