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

Country summary

Landmines were laid in Chile during the Pinochet regime in the 1970s, along Chile’s borders with Argentina in the south, and with Bolivia and Peru in the north. The mined areas—which contained both antivehicle and antipersonnel mines—were generally difficult to access, and were mostly in unpopulated regions. Most mines were laid in the north, with some minefields located as high as 5,000 meters above sea level.[1] In March 2020, Chile announced the completion of its clearance obligations, with the last mines removed on 27 February 2020.[2]

As of the end of 2019, Chile reported almost 65km² of cluster munition contaminated land in three air force ranges and an army base. The contamination is a result of the use of cluster munitions on military training ranges, where public access is limited. Until 2019, no survey or clearance of these areas had been reported. In July 2020, Chile submitted an interim extension request for one year, under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, until 1 June 2022. It was approved on 25 May 2021 by ‘‘silence procedure’’ at the extended Second Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In June 2021, Chile submitted its second interim Article 4 extension request for another year, to 1 June 2023, based on its previous request.[3]

Risk education in Chile is provided via a school program run by the Ministry of Education. Limited risk education outreach was also provided in relation to mined areas for tour operators.

Chile is responsible for survivors of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). No cluster munition victims have been reported by Chile—yet media reporting in 2021 identified two people injured by an unexploded submunition in 1995. In 2017, Chile adopted a law which provides for reparations, and assistance in rehabilitation and social and economic inclusion, to victims of mines and other ERW (Law No. 21.021).[4] The regulation for the application of the law was approved in 2018, and the reparation system was launched in 2019.[5] As of the end of 2020, not all survivors in Chile knew their rights or were aware of how to access the benefits provided under the law.

Treaty status

Treaty status overview

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline

Chile’s initial Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline was 1 March 2012; but in 2011, Chile submitted, and was granted, a request for an extension to 1 March 2020. Chile cited the extreme climate and challenging topographical conditions as barriers to completing clearance as planned.

In March 2020, Chile announced that it had completed clearance of all known mined areas within its territory on 27 February 2020, therefore meeting its Article 5 obligations.[6]

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 clearance deadline

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Chile is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 June 2021. However, Chile has prioritized clearance of landmines, and had not conducted any clearance of cluster munition remnants as of the end of 2020.[7]

In January 2020, Chile submitted an Article 4 extension request for a period of five years, until 2026.[8] However, in July 2020, Chile submitted a revised request for a one-year interim extension until 1 June 2022. Chile planned to conduct technical survey during 2021 and then submit a follow-up extension request with a plan for clearance.[9] The request was granted through silence procedure in May 2021.

In June 2021, Chile submitted a second one-year extension request, without survey having been undertaken, citing a lack of resources in addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview

The mine action program in Chile is managed by the National Demining Commission (Comisión Nacional de Desminado, CNAD), chaired by the Minister of Defense. The Executive Secretariat of the National Demining Commission (Secretaría Ejecutiva Comisión Nacional de Desminado, SECNAD) is its working unit. Its main functions are to advise the president of Chile, mobilize resources, coordinate demining with state agencies, and develop plans for implementing the Mine Ban Treaty. Decree 79, which created CNAD in 2002, establishes its mandate only in relation to antipersonnel mines. Chile proposed that a Defense Disarmament Commission would be formed as an inter-ministerial coordinator and an advisory body to the Ministry of National Defense, to coordinate clearance of cluster munition remnants.[11]

Strategies and policies

Chile had a National Plan for Humanitarian Demining 2016–2020, and an updated clearance plan for 2018–2020, which projected completion of mine clearance by 2020.[12] CNAD issues an annual National Directive on the Execution of Demining Activities from the Government of Chile, which contains a set of provisions and tasks to support the planning of demining activities.[13]

Chile stated that a workplan for the clearance of cluster munitions will be developed following the implementation of technical survey during 2021.[14]

Standards

Chile developed a joint demining manual for the Chilean Armed Forces in 2014, which includes procedures for destruction of ERW.[15] The International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) are applied in mine action operations in Chile.[16]

Information management

In 2017, Chile upgraded to Version 6 of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), after adopting the Mine Action Reporting System (MARS) application as a replacement IMSMA Mobile. MARS has equipped Chile with high-quality geographic information, to support decision-making around clearance.[17]

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview

SECNAD coordinates with the Education Mainstreaming Unit of the Ministry of Education in the implementation of risk education activities.[18]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[19]

Laws and policies

In July 2017, Chile enacted Law No. 21.021, providing reparations and assistance in rehabilitation and social and economic inclusion to victims of mines/ERW.[20] The regulation for the application of the law was approved in September 2018.[21] It incorporates provisions addressing victims under three disarmament instruments: the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Mine Ban Treaty, and Protocol V of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). Provisions for benefits such as cash compensation, medical assistance, and free-of-charge prosthetic and orthotic devices are also included in the law.[22] The law assigned the Ministry of National Defense as the body responsible for the registry of victims and beneficiaries of the law, through the Undersecretariat for the Armed Forces.[23]

Article 4 of Law No. 21.021 notes a number of exclusions to victims receiving benefits under the terms of the law, according to the circumstances within which the incident occurred. Benefits are excluded if the victim intentionally manipulated the mine or explosive item; intentionally entered the property where it was located, with prior knowledge about the possible existence of the item; or if the incident occurred during a crime or misdemeanor. Victims who were children at the time of the incident occurring, and Chilean Armed Forces or public order and security personnel acting in compliance with their functions, are exempt from these exclusions.

The Chilean Association of Landmine and Munition Victims (Grupo de Victimas de Minas y Municiones de Chile, GVMM) has worked to reach survivors, in order to explain their rights and the methods for accessing the benefits established by Law No. 21.021 .[24]

Law No. 20.422, of February 2010, on Equal Opportunities and Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, establishes standards in these areas.[25]

Law No. 21.015, of June 2017, on Labor Inclusion, aims to promote the effective labor inclusion of persons with disabilities in Chile, both in the public and private spheres.

Information management

SECNAD maintains a centralized database including information on people killed and injured by mines and other ERW in Chile. Data is collected on their needs and challenges and is disaggregated by age, gender, and type of disability.[26]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview (as of December 2020)[27]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Landmine contamination

In March 2020, Chile announced completion of landmine clearance and therefore fulfillment of its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance obligations.[28]

Mines were laid in Chile during the period of the Pinochet regime in the 1970s on Chile’s borders with Argentina in the south, and with Bolivia and Peru in the north. The mined areas, which typically contained both antivehicle and antipersonnel mines, were difficult to access and mostly located in unpopulated regions. Most mines were laid in the north, with some minefields located as high as 5,000 meters above sea level.[29]

Cluster munition remnants contamination

Cluster munitions were used in military training activities and not in the context of armed conflict or combat operations. The areas thought to be contaminated with cluster munition remnants are on training ranges belonging to the Chilean Armed Forces, where access for unauthorized persons is prohibited.[30] The contamination affects three ranges belonging to the Chilean Air Force, which are presumed contaminated with CB-250K cluster bombs; and on one army base, which is presumed contaminated by MKII and LAR 160 munitions.[31]

Chile’s original estimate of almost 97km² of cluster munition remnant contamination was reduced to 64.61km² following the conduct of non-technical survey in 2019. Chile has reported that due to the “usual procedures” of its military, it is likely that contamination is minimal.[32] The estimate of contamination is expected to be further reduced after technical survey, which Chile reported was delayed in 2020 due to a lack of allocated resources and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[33]

Casualties

As of February 2021, 216 mine/ERW victims, for all time, had been registered by CNAD in Chile. It was not reported how many of the total were injured or killed.[34] CNAD collects data on victims of mines and other ERW via SECNAD in collaboration with the Chilean Investigative Police (Policía de Investigaciones de Chile, PDI) and the national defense institutions.[35]

No mine/ERW casualties were reported in Chile from 2018–2020. Two deminers were injured in separate accidents in 2017.[36] In 2016, there were four civilian casualties as a result of incidents near the border with Peru; all of which were foreign nationals, from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Peru. [37] The Monitor recorded a total of 43 casualties (six killed and 37 injured) in Chile between 1999 and December 2017.

Cluster munition casualties

Chile has reported that it has not had casualties from cluster munitions.[38] However, in 2021, it was reported in local media that two conscripted military personnel were injured in an explosion caused by a cluster munition remnant in June 1995.[39]

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Clearance operators

Clearance

Land release overview[40]

Land release

Landmines

In March 2020, Chile announced the completion of mine clearance, with the last mines removed on 27 February 2020. A total of 177,725 mines were cleared over 18 years of clearance work.[41] In the first two months of 2020, 2.69km² of land was released, including 0.60km² cleared and 2.09km² reduced, seeing the destruction of 12,526 antipersonnel mines and 10,170 antivehicle mines. The majority of mines were cleared across three areas in Arica and Parinacota.[42]

In 2019, Chile reported the release of less land than in January–February 2020. Of the 1.74km² released in total in 2019, 0.55km² was through clearance, 0.35km² through reduction, and 0.84km² through cancellation. In 2019, a total of 4,093 antipersonnel mines and 1,187 antivehicle mines were cleared.

Cluster munition remnants

Cluster munition remnants contamination in Chile is limited to land that has been used for military training. Chile has claimed that the military usually conducts clearance of submunitions and ERW after their use.[43] Chile has not carried out clearance in cluster munition contaminated areas, and until 2019 had not conducted survey in the four areas contaminated with cluster munition remnants.

In July 2020, Chile submitted a one-year interim request to extend its Article 4 deadline to conduct technical survey, and to submit a follow-up extension request with a clearance plan. In June 2021, Chile submitted a second one-year request, without further survey having been undertaken, citing the same reasons as the previous request, in addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[44]

In 2019, non-technical survey of contaminated areas reduced the original estimate of 96.88km² of contamination by 32.27km², leaving the remaining estimated contaminated area at 64.61km².[45] In 2021, Chile planned to conduct further technical survey.

Chile reported that the Demining and Destruction Training Center of the Military Engineers trained the Chilean Armed Forces in mine clearance, and would also conduct training for cluster munition remnants clearance. In 2019, 20 military personnel studied explosive ordnance disposal (EOD).[46]

Risk education

Operators and service providers

Risk education operators

Beneficiary numbers

No risk education beneficiary numbers were reported by Chile.

Implementation

Risk education in Chile is conducted by SECNAD in partnership with the Ministry of Education.[47] This comprises activities in schools and universities near mined areas, as part of a safety program in schools and via a play, “Demining and the School” (“el desminado y la escuela”), implemented in October each year.[48] Risk education materials were also distributed to schools, with messages on awareness of mined areas, tampering with ordnance, and what to do if a mine/ERW is found.[49] In October 2019, a risk education campaign was conducted in the regions of Arica and Parinacota, the metropolitan region of Colina, the region of Magallanes, and the Chilean Antarctica.[50]

Tourist information brochures were distributed in Chile to indicate the location of mined areas and military shooting ranges. The National Tourism Service and police in towns close to contaminated areas were also informed of the presence of mined areas with warning signs.[51]

While cluster munition remnants contamination is reported to be on military ranges, where public access is prohibited, risk education campaigns have been conducted in schools in surrounding communities. In October 2019, risk education campaigns were conducted in Arica and Puerto Natales, though it was not reported whether they addressed the risk from cluster munition remnants contamination.[52] No risk education specific to cluster munition remnants was reported in 2020.

Chile’s 2020 Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 extension request included provision for a budget for risk education activities, in four locations, for the period 2021–2026.[53] According to its June 2021 follow-up extension request, the information in the 2020 request remained valid.

Target groups

The main target groups for risk education in Chile are schoolchildren, tour operators, and residents of communities near affected areas.

Marking

All minefields in Chile were reported as fenced and marked in line with the IMAS, using warning signs and barbed wire.[54] Signs were provided in Spanish, as well as in Aymara, English, German, or Quechua depending on the area.[55]

Cluster munition remnants contamination is located within military enclosures, with access to the public prohibited.[56] These contaminated areas are reported to be far from populated centers.[57]

Victim assistance

Victim assistance operators

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Medical care and rehabilitation

SECNAD provided assistance to victims, and covered costs for accommodation, food, and transfer for victims travelling from other regions to the capital, Santiago, to receive medical examinations and treatment. SECNAD Social Service staff accompanied survivors to clinical centers, following-up with each case through home visits, telephone calls, and emails. SECNAD provided medical benefits to 517 mine/ERW victims in 2020, compared to 738 in 2019, and 868 in 2018.[58]

The system for reparations and assistance for victims of antipersonnel mines and other ERW, as set out in Law No. 21.021, was launched in January 2019.[59] The Division of Institutional Affairs of the Ministry of National Defense, the unit in charge of the reparations, reported that more than half of registered survivors had received benefits. However, not all potential beneficiaries had been contacted, and victims receiving support were those who had submitted an application.[60]

Survivors reported delays in the provision of healthcare services in Chile. This could be attributed to Chile having completed clearance of its mined and that the medical care previously managed by SECNAD would be managed by the reparations unit.[61]

Most persons with disabilities in Chile—including civilian mine/ERW survivors—are eligible for free healthcare through the National Health Fund, and for other social support via the Ministry of Planning. However, GVMM has reported that a number of civilian mine/ERW survivors are not receiving appropriate services. The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Health jointly coordinate medical assistance to mine/ERW survivor beneficiaries of the National Health Fund.[62]

Many mine/ERW survivors were reported to be living in extremely difficult conditions. Some had not had their prosthesis replaced for more than a decade. There was no formal mechanism to ensure that the National Disability Service (Servicio Nacional de Discapacidad, SENADIS) assists mine or ERW survivors among its beneficiaries. SENADIS operates a community-based rehabilitation center support program. However, rehabilitation centers in Chile had insufficient capacity to meet the needs of all persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors.[63]

In October 2020, SENADIS called for technical proposals from relevant institutions to strengthen the community-based rehabilitation network in Chile. Public and private health networks, including community-based rehabilitation centers and mental health clinics, were invited to participate.[64]